Ebony
by EbonyAnimalSpirit
Summary: It started with a single crimson feather. One single feather, fallen among a sea of black... Lost to the fluttering, ebony waves, cold and drowning... Alone. We should have guessed we were bad for one another... but we didn't... Idiot {My Hero Academia} {HawksXOC} {Spoilers for Anime/Manga}
1. Chapter 1- Spirit

**Chapter 1**

 **Spirit**

 **.:+:.**

 _There was something fluttering down toward her, soft, slow... Some shard or section of crimson sky that seemed to have broken off, and was now getting closer._

 _It blotted out the light of the setting sun over her head, dazzling her slightly, and making it glow like a brand of fire against an orange backdrop... Brighter than life, almost._

 _For a split few seconds, she was almost entranced by it- still in her place and just watching... Before the suddenly sluggish flow of time sped up again, and she realized what she was doing- who that feather belonged to._

 _Shit_

 _Her feet shifted across the pavement, ready to turn around and make a swift exit- but of course it was too late, damn it._

 _"Hey there~"_

 **.:+:.**

There was always so many people, even as the day drew to an end, even as the sky started to fade from blue into orange.

That's what one gets when you live in a heavily populated section of Japan. And to go with it- an elevated rate in crime, accidents, (bullshit) mayhem- you name it.

Perfect hunting ground for Pros... Though maybe sometimes she wished there were fewer of them around. Sometimes more is _not_ merrier, but even then she couldn't complain too much- for the most part they made things safer, kept more people safe... Maybe even made her job easier.

Some days she found herself wishing there was something more challenging, other days she couldn't care less if the hours she spent on the streets were just filled with inane walking... Today was one of those days, for the most part. She was honestly too tired to really want to get into a huge fight today, but even the walking up and down street after street was quickly getting way more exhausting than it should have been.

 _... Mmmm... I shouldn't have agreed to work overtime... I'm falling asleep on my feet here..._

She wove her way passed feet and people so, so much taller than she was at current- earning more than a few curious glances down toward her as she continued up the sidewalk and toward the next street ahead.

 _... The extra money is nice though... I suppose I shouldn't complain too much..._

"Kitty!" A child trilled excitedly, clutching to his mothers hand and eyes glittering as her eyes met the young boy's, but she didn't stop.

"Hmm?"

"Can I pet it mommy?" The child asked hopefully,

"Oh, no honey- we shouldn't touch strays." The mother murmured quickly, casting her a somewhat nervous, somewhat faintly disgusted look- she looked away and ahead. It was no use stopping, and probably a bad idea getting too pissed off about it... People did that more often than she'd like to admit.

 _Not a stray lady_

"-woah, hey...! Hey...!" Someone else said in a hushed voice after a few minutes, she caught the sight of a young girl (highschool maybe), pointing at her and jamming an elbow into her friend beside her. Said friend's attention snapped up from her phone, slightly annoyed.

"What?" She muttered hotly, her eyes finding where the first was gesturing toward so frantically.

"That cat! See it?!"

"It's a cat..." The friend mumbled blankly, the (clearly) excited one let out and exasperated sigh and shook her head hotly.

"No! It's black, and the way it's just walking through everyone like that?! It's gotta be _her!"_ She whispered, hardly- the friend sweatdropped.

"You think _every_ cat, _or_ bird, _or_ dog, or literally _any black animal_ you see is her, but what are the chances we'd ever just see her walking by?" The friend muttered skeptically,"The last one wasn't even black, it was brown! But you were _so convinced_ that it had to be her!"

"I know, I know! But I mean it this time!" The first kept on, still talking hushed, feverish, excited-

 _Hehe, I see someone's a bit of a fan, hmm...?_

She smirked, her head tilting in the girl's direction _. Her,_ the _cat_ that had previously been walking along, minding it's own business- looking like just some ordinary stray walking around the city, insignificant and nothing to really pay any mind to... well, unless you knew what you were looking for.

A black cat, fur shinning ebony in the dying light of the sun and eyes an eerie, striking crimson red color that maybe wasn't so ordinary in all due respect... there wasn't really anything ordinary about her, though. And she really wasn't an actual cat, but she was quite convincing.

Her tail swished out behind her, one smooth, deliberate motion as her ebony fur shone a bit deeper black, and then somehow crimson as her form seemed to blur, distorted slightly and almost ethereal. That small sweep of her tail suddenly had bits and flecks of black _something_ falling to the ground like dark snow, but not just- more parcels of light or energy or something that seemed... mystical.

Both of the girl's eyes went wide, their jaws dropping and eyes glittering in barely held back glee and astonishment- riveted and hardly looking like they were breathing as that not so ordinary, suddenly near ghost of a cat looked right at them both, and _winked._

 _Oh they looked like they were losing their shit~!_

She chuckled, tail held high and trotting off a bit faster now as her figure stopped blurring and wavering, what sudden shift from (near) normalcy entirely done away with- she heard both girls let out squeals as she left them behind.

"IT'S REALLY HER?!"

"I TOLD YOU!"

She cast a small glance back to see the first girl holding tight to the other and both of them shaking from head to foot, glancing feverishly back and forth between her retreating figure and one another.

"ANIMAL SPIRIT! WE'RE HUGE FANS!"

She tilted her head up, laughing a little as she flicked her tail in the direction of the girls- who's sudden call of her name caught the eyes of nearly everyone on the sidewalk... and the street. People on the sidewalk around her stopped in their walking, heads turning and angling down as she brushed through the crowd with ease.

"Thank you for your support~!" She called back, her voice carrying just as easily even in the body of a cat rather than your normal human being. And despite that at all appearances, she was a _cat_ who just _talked_ \- not a single person on that street seemed freaked out over it.

Well, at least not in a _panicked_ sort of way- just an excited, jumping in place and wide-eyed fangirl (and boy!) sort of way.

 _Which is normal_

"Woah! Animal Spirit!?"

"No way!"

"So cool~!"

"Out on Patrol, huh?"

She nodded her head, humming slightly and still trotting along through the crowds and the people with ease.

"Hehe, stay out of trouble, yeah?"

"Haven't seen ya in this part of town in awhile!"

"Been busy saving other districts, huh?"

"Oh my god she is so freaking cuuuuuutteeee~!"

"Cute? She's _badass_ , not cute!"

"But she's a cat! Cat's are cute~!"

She sighed, her ears folding a bit and shaking her head a little at the comments and calls she heard as she continued on- nodding to them but never stopping nor really saying anything. If she did stop and start to chat, it'd create this big mass of people, all crowding around, trying to get her attention... And then she wouldn't be doing her job.

 _Besides... I just wanna hold out until midnight without any big issues... Then I can go to sleep..._

And besides, besides... She wasn't really big on the whole 'keeping up with the fans' and going out of her way to 'please the public' like some Pros were... In essence she cared little about her Image, and hardly ever went out of her way to do some superficial stunt or whatever to brighten it. In her opinion, her efforts in her actual work should be more than enough to keep up, and maintain said 'image'. Actions speak louder than words and all that... And to add to it?

Being popular didn't really do her much good, nor get her anywhere in the long run. Not with her rather... Ah, for lack of a better word- _special_ circumstances.

 _Can't complain about that bit too much either... Seeing as how it is mostly by choice... Which is what most of Japan and society all know too._

She could practically see the headlines in her head, in all their multitude of saying the same thing in about a hundred different ways... She'd read them about a hundred times herself, after all.

 _'Pro Hero, Animal Spirit- decision to stay unaffiliated an act of rebellion, or naivety?'_

 _'Animal Spirit holding out for a high-paying offer?'_

 _'What game is Animal Spirit playing at?'_

 _'The inside story on Animal Spirit's decision to stay solo!'_

 _'Underground monopoly on popular Pro's namesake and market-value?'_

 _'Animal Spirit, anomaly among Pro Heroes'_

 _Blah and blah... And banter and hearsay and babble..._

She let out a small sigh, her paws veering her around the corner and ever on high alert- though everything was quite... quiet, right now.

 _'Animal Spirit, high-rising and youthful young hero, two years into her career and still never signed on with any Pro Hero Office!'_

 _... Animal Spirit, Pro Hero popular with most of your common, everyday joe (and janet...)... And unpopular with literally almost everyone else._

 _I suppose I do have a knack for pissing people off... But usually I mean to, but not with that... It just rubs a bunch of people the wrong way._

She sighed again, shaking her head a bit and sticking to the edge of the sidewalk near the road- oblivious or otherwise uncaring of the cars that rolled passed on the pavement with little end nor pause.

 _... Mm... Mostly Hero Agencies... Marketers... Other Pros..._

She blinked, her eyes trailing sideways toward an alleyway as her steps slowed up a little.

 _... Aaaaand now I'm brooding about it again, hate it when I do that..._

Her movement halted entirely, head tilting and ears shoved forward toward that alley and on high alert now-

 _CRASH_

The unending drone of people walking by on the street got interrupted by the loud sound of something heavy shattering. Several people stuttered to a halt, whipping around in the direction of the noise and most of them finding what it was that made it- a flowerpot that had previously been sitting on the edge of one of the fire escapes outside an apartment a few floors up.

"Eh..?! Fumine!"

"H-help..!"

A shocked murmur passed among the people on the street outside the alley, attention called in an instant by the sudden shout for help- of which was being made by a young boy holding desperately to the slick metal railings of the fire escape, and hanging precariously over the edge of it, right above the hard cement a few hundred feet down.

 _Kids I swear... Always getting into trouble_

'Fumine's' friend quickly started to struggle down from where he was on a separate platform of the fire escape a bit farther up- panicked now as he did his best to help his other half. There was already a crowd moving inside the alleyway, emotions running a bit higher in the sudden danger.

"Oh no...!"

"Is there anyone around who can catch him..?!" Someone called quickly, scanning the crowd.

"I-i'm coming, Fumine...!" The second kid called frantically, his feet pounding against the stairs he was rushing down. His eyes darting frantically between his dangling friend and the stairs themselves,

"Oi, slow down and relax before _you_ trip too."

The second young boy slammed to a halt about halfway down the stairs, his head snapping up and eyes wide at the new voice-

"Huh...?!"

"S-shit...!" Fumine squeaked, his fingers slipping near all the way as his body jerked downward at the behest of gravity- only for him to be quickly jerked upward again by a steely grip on his lower arm. The sudden and unexpected panic and turmoil slammed to a sudden and unexpected halt- in all but a few moments from the time it started.

Fumine's head snapped up, mouth agape and teary eyed as his attention found the owner of that hand that had grabbed him, and stopped his fall. His eyes met crimson red ones, staring up into the face of a young woman with russet, copper colored hair tied into a low ponytail at the back of her head and paint of a deep crimson hue drawn under her eyes and across her lower lip. There was something weird though, some ethereal and dark red-black glow that seemed to surround her person... And her eyes, they almost seemed to glow.

She let out a small huff, grunting slightly as her ribs smashed a bit painfully into the railing she was currently bent over, holding on to the young boy as he dangled in air- only supported by her hold.

 _This kid is waaaaaaaayyy heavier than he looks... Jesus..._

Fumine's eyes snapped from her and toward the ground, then back to her, to the ground... Yeah

"..b...but...?! How the hell did you...?!" He stammered, she smirked a bit dryly.

"Don't sweat the small stuff just yet," the older woman hummed, her grip on his arm tightening as she straightened up a bit, grumbling under her breath as she slowly hoisted his full body weight up enough until he could hook his feet on the edge of the platform and steady himself- with her hand still holding on to him, of course. She stayed where she was, her hands holding tight to him as he climbed over onto the other side of the railing and the safety of the stable flooring- his knees shaking so much he slumped into sitting with a shaky sigh of relief. The woman stopped, her hands falling on her hips and shaking her head a bit, the other boy managed the last few steps down and stopped beside his friend, breathless.

"Dude you okay...?!"

"Y-yea..."

The woman let out a small breath,

 _It's always something..._

"Everything alright up there?"

Her attention shifted, her crimson eyes moving toward the railing and down toward the alley floor- spotting a familiar, armor-clad figure not far below them, his head tilted up and hands on his hips as he stood at the front of what crowd had gathered below. The woman smirked slightly, nodding her head and leaning over the railing a bit as she gave him a thumbs up,

"Yep, all good." She called down easily, he nodded a bit. "Seems like I beat you to the punch for once, huh Ingenium?"

If it were actually possible to see his face through that helmet, she imagined she could see some small amused smile on his face at the comment- but all she heard was a small chuckle. "Seems so." He hummed back, turning in the direction of the crowd behind him a few dozen feet- and pausing for a few long moments, like he was debating something. "... It's been awhile since I've seen you in this part of the city, Animal Spirit- how about you finish up there and come down? I'd like to talk for a little, if you're up for it."

The woman blinked, her head tilting at the Engine Hero and the sudden ask for a 'talk'.

"Mmmm... Kay." She hummed, waving a hand at him as he nodded.

"Alright everyone, everything's been taken care of~! No need to worry ~" Ingenium called out to the crowd, "Animal Spirit has this well on hand~"

"Ah, it's Ingenium!"

"So cool!"

"Hey, did you see how fast Animal Spirit got up there?!"

"Dude I didn't even see her move!"

"And the way she caught that kid, and lifted him up? She's like super freaking strong!"

"She's so cool~!"

"Man I wish I could get a better shot, they're so high up!"

The woman- or rather- _Animal Spirit_ (her Pro Hero name, anyway), cast one fleeting look at the cooing and rumbling crowd below in all their praises and cheers of both herself and the armored Engine down there with them (not that he did anything just now mind you... ah well), before she turned toward the two younger boys still behind her on the fire escape. They looked up at her with wide, glimmering eyes and slack jaws, barely holding back their sudden excitement and their awe as they gazed at the (quite popular, actually!) Pro standing right in front of them.

A lean young woman with russet colored hair pulled back into a low ponytail, dressed in a trim, form fitting dark brown leather bodysuit with no sleeves and no back, and stopped on the bottom at her upper thigh. Underneath that she had on red fishnet leggings, with strapping's crisscrossing around and down her legs, stopping at the knee-high leather boots she had on. Starting at her upper arms were detached sleeves that stretched down both arms and attached to her middle fingers, the leather marked across by red markings on the sleeves- similar to the red on the suit around her stomach. Red markings like scratch marks ran under both eyes and paired with red painted on her lower lip and skin, a color a shade darker than the scarlet hue of her eyes.

She saw them both mouth 'Animal Spirit' wordlessly as it finally, _really_ hit them who it was that had (somehow?) come to be on that platform with them out of nowhere.

Her hands fell on her waist as she sighed, shaking her head at them a bit. "Now look boys, I'm not gonna ask what it was you were doing out here on the fire escapes to begin with- but whatever it was, you clearly didn't think it through." She started evenly, her tone cool and calm but not lacking what small amount of scolding was needed. "This isn't the place to be fooling around for any reason, one wrong step and you're tumbling down a few stories- and that'll land you in the hospital or worse." They sweatdropped slightly, looking flustered and embarrassed as they quickly averted their eyes from her. "And you're not always gonna be lucky enough to have someone nearby who can save you either. My advice? Use the fire escapes like their meant to be used, and not as your personal jungle-gym, got it?"

"Yes ma'am..." They mumbled, she sighed silently.

"Good, now- are you alright? No broken bones, nothing that needs attention?" She asked easily, Fumine shook his head quickly.

"N-no, I'm good!" He said quickly, she smiled.

"Good to hear." She said simply,

"T-thank you... By the way...!" He stammered,

"Yeah, you really saved his ass." His friend put in softly,

"You're welcome." She hummed lightly,

 _Saving asses comes with the job_

She turned, her hand gliding along the railing as she shot the boys a look, "You two better go back inside, and stay out of trouble, alright?" She told them lightly, they smiled nervously.

"Y-yeah..."

She didn't give their answer a seconds more attention, her feet pushed off the floor as she jumped on top of the railing- and her body seemed to glow, her form fracturing into a haze of black and red that sent pieces of the haze falling to the ground like snow- and the woman known as Animal Spirit was suddenly swallowed whole. What remained on the railing now was a black cat with crimson red eyes and a body that seemed blurred and jagged around the edges, ethereal and almost see through- what should have been solid seemed to warp and bend where it shouldn't... Like she was some section of reality that just didn't fit. The haze faded, the distortion of her form cleared and the chips of black-red faded to nonexistence and left her looking like just some ordinary black cat.

People's faces were always so awestruck when they saw her Shift up close... _I think those boys have forgotten how to breathe._

Her tail swished, chuckling a little to herself as she bent down a bit and readied herself to jump. "Stay out of trouble boys." She called back, her paws leaving the metal as she pushed herself down and met free air for a few fleeting seconds- before she hit the platform below the one the younger boys were standing on.

"... Dude..."

"That... That was so cool...!"

"We just met Animal Spirit?!"

She hummed under her breath, hearing their voices fade away above her as she continued to carefully hop from one fire escape to the next one below it, bringing herself closer to the alley floor with more grace and control than any ordinary cat would ever have.

 _Guess it makes sense, since I'm not technically a cat_

"Ah crap, I should have asked for a picture!"

Her ears flicked at the mutter,

 _... Kinda glad you didn't think to ask, kiddo..._

Again, she just wasn't really big on pictures, fanfare... Any of that.

 _Besides, I probably look like a mess right now anyway... That's what I get for getting no sleep... Oi..._

Her jumping between platforms ended as she reached the second story, pausing slightly to scan what little of the crowd was left below and finding the Armored Ingenium catering to a few fans.

 _... 'Talk' huh...? That's a little weird to ask out of nowhere... Especially from that guy, we haven't ever 'talked' just for the hell of it._

 _Mmmm... Not that I talk to many other Pros normally, mind you..._

Not by choice maybe, she considered herself a rather easy personality to get along with at the best of times- but even then she never really went out of her way to strike up conversations or even relationships with other Pros. When push came to shove and she had to work with them on a job or during some crisis, she got along well and adapted to working with everyone she had met thus far rather well... She just maybe preferred working alone, if given the choice.

And after said excursions of collaboration and teamwork, when never really kept in touch with anyone either. It wasn't at all unheard of for Pros to make friends of other Pros, and even work with them more often than others- it was even in some ways advantageous to have another Hero you knew and trusted to work with. But she wasn't looking to make 'making allies' a top priority, she didn't see a need to... She worked well enough alone, like a lot of Pros did.

Not to say she wasn't polite and even friendly when the time came to be- she made a habit of just... _Not_ pissing people off, if she could.

Her tail swished behind her in slight animation, watching him still talking with his fans- a thinner group of people now, then what it had been before- but still enough she really wasn't looking to jump down, just in case they tried to get her attention too. The Engine Hero cast a quick glance behind him and found her waiting there, her eyes searching the helmet for where his gaze was and yet never really seeing it. Ingenium seemed to take the hint, and quickly said his goodbyes to the people in front of him as he headed back a ways toward where the fire escape was- waving to them.

"Thank you for the support everyone, have a good day and stay safe? Animal Spirit and I are gonna have a little chat, Pro stuff about the Patrols~"

"Aww, can I get one more picture?"

"Sorry, you'll have to catch me another day~"

Spirit jumped down from her perch and onto the alley floor, a painful jolt rushing through her legs briefly as she made contact. Not a big height to jump from, but big enough to hurt a little- even for a 'cat'.

Her head tilted up toward the armor knight as he came up next to her, the crowds shuffling off back the way they came and leaving herself and him alone in the alley. Her ears twitched, angled toward the people leaving them behind until they were far enough away to be out of earshot.

"So, 'Patrol Stuff'?" She hummed up at him, he sighed softly.

"In a sense." He replied, "I know you don't usually work around this section of the city, but I thought it best to warn you regardless."

 _Warn?_

Her head tilted at the words, immediately aware of what seriousness crept into the Hero (that even she knew, without ever really _knowing_ him) to be rather laid back. Her figure got lost to a black-red haze, the form of a cat being abandoned as she Shifted back into her normal form, her arms crossed about her chest and red eyes settled on Ingenium. He tilted his head to the side a bit, motioning for her to follow him as he started down the opposite end of the alley she had entered on- and Spirit followed him slowly.

"Have you heard anything about the Hero Killer Stain?" He asked softly, Spirit's eyes flashed a little in surprise.

 _Stain...?_

"... nothing more than the general chatter in the news." She murmured, "He's killed 17 Pros yeah? And injured about a dozen others..." Ingenium nodded stiffly, and Spirit grimaced faintly, her eyes falling closed as they continued forward side by side. "... sounds like a tough one to beat..." She mumbled nearly all to herself, missing the way Ingenium stiffened beside her at the comment.

They both drew up at the halfway point of the alley, Ingenium's steps halting as Spirit took that as cue to stop too- standing with her back a bit to the street and facing him as he let out a heavy sigh and pulled his helmet off. "Yes, he's proving to be quite the adversary." He murmured lowly, his eyes glittering slightly as they lingered on the helmet he now held in his hands. "Reports of his activity have been steadily growing closer to this part of Japan, and it's likely he'll attempt to enact his so-called 'justice' on one, or maybe even several of the Pros that patrol this area."

 _Ah, lovely thought..._

"You planning to catch him, Ingenium?" Spirit asked flatly, he grimaced a bit at the question and what steady stare she settled on him as she said it. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that taking him on isn't something you should do lightly... and certainly never something you should try alone."

"I'm aware that would be a bad idea." He sighed, "And I will do my best to apprehend him, should the situation arise- but I certainly don't plan to seek him out if I can help it." Spirit nodded a bit, "My mentioning it now is simply to warn you to keep an eye out, and be careful- especially when you're alone." She let out a silent sigh, Ingenium smiled slightly, almost as if it was meant to be reassuring. "I know you're plenty capable of taking care of yourself, Animal Spirit- but I also know you tend to do most of your work at night... And that is when Stain is the most active." Ingenium added, and she let her head tilt back a bit as her eyes dropped closed.

"... I'm sorry, did my expression give off the vibe that I thought you were doubting me?" She mumbled, he smiled a bit in amusement. "... Mmmmmm... I get it, you're just making sure everyone's on the same page about it, and the heads up is appreciated... I'll keep a better eye out on my rounds, and everyone else where I can... Though honestly I can't imagine why Stain would wanna waste his time on trying to kill me."

 _... Not unless he somehow miraculously knows about all of that..._

"You're a pretty popular Hero, Animal Spirit. And he seems to have an eye on Pros who are popular-" Ingenium murmured,

"Yeah, in the media." she added, cutting him off a bit as her head tilted back down again. He paused, blinking at the comment as she shrugged. "I don't know, a lot of the Pros he's gone after were really big on being in the spotlight and keeping up appearances in the general media, right? And then what little has been reported about what he said to the survivors seems to me like he has some beef with Heroes he thinks are just in the business for the 'fame'." Ingenium paused, seemingly thinking about what she said for a few seconds as he nodded.

"Hmmm... All good observations, and I do suppose you might have a point." He mused, "And given _your_ personal attempts at preserving a Media Image are rather lacking compared to a lot of other Pros, you may not be his first choice after all." She nodded a bit and gestured toward him,

"Which given that theory, makes you a more appealing target than me." she said lowly, he grimaced, but nodded in agreement anyway.

"... You might be right." he murmured lowly, "Well then, I suppose I ought to take my own advice and stay more vigilant on my rounds."

"Good plan." She murmured lightly, he shifted his helmet in his hands as he went to place it back over his head- but paused right before he did so.

"Apologies if pointing this out is a bit rude, but you look pretty tired." He said simply, she stiffened a little as her eyes flashed- and he put the helmet back on. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, frowning.

 _Damn it_

"... That noticeable huh?" She muttered, a slight bit embarrassed at being called out on it- and maybe a tiny bit indignant too. "... Mm... Guess opting for staying Shifted while patrolling was the right call... But yeah, _thanks_ for pointing it out." She muttered, he sighed.

"How long are you planning to patrol tonight?" he asked evenly, the woman shrugged her shoulders a bit nonchalantly.

"Till I start falling asleep while walking." she replied with ease, he seemed to grimace (or at least she guessed he did, couldn't see his face now with the helmet~), shaking his head at her.

"Bad idea." He murmured lowly, Spirit smirked dryly.

"Noted." She replied, "... But seriously though, midnight is when I plan to call it quits for today... Barring any surprises, anyway." He nodded a bit to the words, though he seemed a bit hesitant to just agree with her plan anyway.

"... I suppose I don't have any right to tell you what to do." He sighed, "So I'm not going to debate the point with you."

"Appreciated." She hummed easily, he let out one last sigh that was quite exasperated- before he started to turn and leave.

"Well, I'll be off then." He murmured, waving a hand toward her. "Keep an eye out, Animal Spirit- hopefully you won't run into much trouble for the next few hours."

 _Here's hoping_

She lift a hand to wave back, remaining in her place even as he moved. "Yea, and you keep your ears perked, kay?" She called back, "Thanks for the warning,"

"Of course."

And in a sudden rush of air- he sped off at breakneck speed, and she was alone on the alley as her hand fell to her side slowly. She groaned, throwing her head back a little and rubbing her eyes, pushing back against her face and her bangs in exasperation- her feet turning her back the way she came and muttering under her breath.

 _He noticed how tired I am in like three freaking seconds... Ughhhhhh_

" _Fuck_ you three freaking hours of sleep..." She muttered under her breath hotly, her hands falling as she rubbed gently at her still slightly aching ribs where they had smacked into the railing of the catwalk when she grabbed the kid.

 _... Jesus... Midnight is gonna take forever to roll around... Yay..._

 **.:+:.**

 _10:56_

 _You literally have... Like an hour left... You can do this... Just one hour..._

Her feet felt like dead weight, her joints aching as she continued along the sidewalk with her eyes set down and not on the people she passed by... The very tall people, given her current status of a 'cat'.

 _... Oi fucking kill me now please, I just wanna sleeeeeep... The freaking pavement is starting to look comfortable..._

Three hours of walking the streets patrolling since her run in with Ingenium. Three hours and all she had to show for it was walking.

 _Literally. Just. Walking._

How on freaking earth could nothing happen in three hours? Not one squabble on the sidewalk, not one wannabe thief, nor pickpocket, nor even jaywalker. Not a car accident, or a scraped knee... not even one person tripping and losing their groceries on the sidewalk. Which the lack of trouble wasn't really something to complain about- that meant there were no people getting hurt or worse, and that _was_ a good thing. And she'd had a few nights before where everything was slow and calm- and a lot of times it was nice.

It _should_ have been nice right at that moment, she _had_ wanted things to be quiet... _But oi-_

She'd even settle for a run in with _Stain_ at this point, just to keep herself awake. Because the lack of literally anything wasn't peaceful, or nice... It was just dreadful with what little amount of sleep she was running on, and it made the hours near to unbearable.

 _One more hour, one more hour and you can just... Go home, and sleep and stay that way until 5 rolls around..._

Her ears fell against her head as she grumbled a bit under her breath.

 _... Working two jobs just sucks... Fuck. My. Life..._

She rounded a corner in the street that took her along the edge of a parking garage, the other lights and shops and whatnot in the city making the dark backdrop of the night sky seem to almost glow... And blotted out what stars might have been visible, of course. Even as 11:00 at night rolled around, there were still plenty of people left to walk the streets- and that meant there was still plenty of reason for her, and several other Pros scattered along this district to keep on... Keeping on with patrol.

Nowadays there was always at least 3-4 Pros in every major district that were always up and about as night rolled in and sank into the earlier hours of the morning- just like the cops. Just because most of the population were blissfully in bed at those hours didn't mean you could just give up on the whole 'protect and serve', you always needed someone around and watching... Because not even Villains were asleep all the time, and there was always, somehow, somewhere- some sort of trouble. So there were Pros who made sure to be around and awake in that portion of that day, 8pm- 6am, doing their job and whatnot... In the Hero world it was the equivalent of a graveyard shift.

Well, unless you happened to work in a portion of the city whose nightlife was just asking busy as the daytime, or maybe even more so... And even then, that was a little different. Those districts were run on a different standard, because the most popular and well known Pros who were sanctioned in that part of a city were the Pros running the aforementioned Graveyard shift. Whereas for the most part, in less night-oriented districts that saw little action late at night- most Pros sticking around to run the Graveyard shift were less known, and less popular than the ones running around in the day.

 _Most_ , there were of course those few who thrived in the media and the people's hearts even with the rather unforgiving work hours. (Grant you most of those Pros had Quirks that were just better at night or in the dark)

Either way, popular or unpopular... Whatever- her Hero hours usually ranged from 5pm-5am on most days, with the occasional odd set of days here and there she actually worked from noon to 5am, or even 6am when she wasn't expected to be at her 'normal', non-Hero job for the day. And usually she managed a healthy dose of five-six hours or so of sleep in the middle of the day, sandwiched between the end of her 'normal' job, and the start of her day job as a Hero.

 _... Hmm... Or would my Hero work be my night-job instead, since I mostly work then..?_

Well... Needless to say? Her life was literally flitting between one job to the next, then sleep and starting all over again... She supposed it didn't make it easy to have a social life (or even a regular one, since she slept and worked at the prime hours of the day most people were up and awake and doing things), not that she usually minded really.

Just today.

That regular 5-6 hours of sleep had been reduced to three, because she got greedy and said 'hey! I can take a few extra hours at work today, no problem! The extra cash is gonna be great!'

 _Fuck. My. Life._

 _Sometimes I question my own intelligence... How the hell have I lived this long?_

 **BOOOM**

 _BAM... BAM_

She halted, her eyes locked on the ground and stopped right in the entryway to said parking garage she had been walking around. The sudden eruption of noise shook the street and the air overhead, her ears pressed flat against her head as she stood in utter stillness- and the noise was accompanied by more noise...

 _Tick, tick...tick... Tick..._

... Of glass falling from somewhere up above and raining over her person in shards, clicking against the cement and spattering across her back.

 _BAM_

 _... That's a gun... And some sort of explosion before that... And the noises just keep coming..._

 _... Well... I guess I did want something to do_

 **.:+:.**

"This is Officer Nakamura! I am requesting immediate backup at the Hosu Prefecture Parking Garage! There is a band of Villains on the 17th level! I repeat- there are 6 Villains on the 17th level! Motive unknown!"

 **BOOM**

The officer ducked down behind a pillar, bits and pieces of cement and glass flying passed as the parking garage shook with the intensity of the sudden explosion- one of the many cars on the level suddenly up in flames.

Nakamura clutched tightly to his radio, cringing against the noise and the force. These assholes seemed like they were just here to tear things up, rather than steal anything... they were just in the business of making a mess, as far as Nakamura could tell.

He shifted, peering around the corner of the pillar to catch another glimpse of the Villains- only to jump back when the level rung with the sound of the two gunshots that got fired off at where he was hiding.

"Tch... shit!" He snapped hotly, was that an actual gun or a gun-type Quirk? He hadn't gotten a good enough look at any of them to know what they were capable of before all the mayhem started. He pushed himself left, breaking away from the pillar and sprinting in the opposite direction toward a bend in the roadway of the garage, hoping for better cover but never getting very far.

"That asshat called backup!"

"Damn it!"

 _BAM_

Nakamura ducked a little as the shot rang off, and thankfully missed him.

He saw the largest one among the 6 rampaging Villains hook his hands under a car from the corner of his eye, lifting the giant metal object off it's tires with ridiculous ease and sending it flying through the air straight toward Officer Nakamura. Who, had no time at all to get out of the way of it's path of destruction, no matter how fast he ran. He felt the floor shake under his feet, thumping almost though he hardly thought on it- he was about to get crushed,

The garage filled with the sound of the car smashing into the concrete not a few feet in front of him, and then skidding closer- wearing lines into the concrete and the pavement as his impending doom drew nearer, and the thumping shaking the ground got worse- and then _that_ got coupled with thundering... Steps?

He felt air rush passed him, the ground shaking so much he felt it reverberating through his body- and something massive moved right passed him and headed straight toward the car. He stumbled back a bit, losing his footing and promptly falling on his eyes as his eyes went round- time and his own senses catching up enough to realize what it was that had been making the floor shake like that.

"... R... Rhino...?!" He stammered, sweating up a storm and hardly able to believe his eyes- but yes, a massive, jet black _rhinoceros_.

 _In the city_

 _In the parking garage...?!_

It's head dipped, smashing it's horn into the car and throwing it's weight against the machine- halting it after a few inches back and grunting with the effort. Nakamura stared, his eyes raking up and down the animal and the bits and pieces of sheet metal and tubing that cascaded to the floor as it shoved the car off it's horn and stepped back a bit, huffing.

It turned toward him slightly, it's form suddenly distorting and blurring as it melted into a haze of red-black, and then condensed down into something smaller. Little pieces that looked like fragments of ebony colored glass fell to the floor soundlessly as the figure of a cat suddenly appeared among the cloud, where the rhino had been but seconds before- and Officer Nakamura's jaw dropped as his eyes matched with the blood red ones.

"You alright?" The cat asked quickly, the voice of a woman- and Nakamura struggled to nod.

"Y-yeah.." He stammered, the cat dipped her head.

"Good, get to a better cover spot when there's an opening. With any luck your backup will be here soon." she ordered quickly, turning on her paws and heading to break from the cover of the car at breakneck speed.

Nakamura swallowed, his hand shaking as he brought his radio up. "... Nakamura, what is your status?" The operator asked (rather impatiently).

"... Ah, 6 Villains... On the 17th floor... Pro Hero Animal Spirit is on the scene."

"What in the _fuck_ was that thing?!" One of the Villains snapped, the 6 of them spread out on the far side of the level from where Nakamura was, tensions high and already having torn up a fair amount of the garage, destroyed cars, you name it. A few of them looked like they were holding on to something... _bags?_

She didn't linger on it too long

"Is that flying fuck got someone else with him?!" One of the other Villains snapped hotly, she caught sight of him and his rather snake-like appearance as she raced across the pavement and toward the rows of cars, ducking under them and skirting around the tires as she brought herself closer and almost entirely unseen.

 _Flying fuck?_

She jumped up and on to the hood of a car near to where one of the Villains was, (a thin little dude with rather long arms), all four paws patting against the metal as she paused not even for a second- and ran straight across in his direction. This time she didn't go unnoticed, not that she really cared- her red eyes locked right on to Mr. Long-arms and nothing else.

"Is that a cat...?!"

" _Idiot_ , that ain't no cat! That's _Animal Spirit!_ "

"The Pro...?!"

She launched herself off the car, meeting midair as she jumped straight at Mr. Long-arms and he recoiled a little on shock- but much, much too late. Her claws dug into his shirt, her body engulfed in a haze of black and red and fragments that fell like snow- switching instantly from cat back to her regular form as her body weight and momentum on top of him out of nowhere- slammed him backwards and into the ground with a painful thud. Her hand slammed into his face in the midst of the movement, shoving his head back into the concrete hard enough to knock him senseless and out of commission in about ten seconds time.

Spirit stiffened, her eyes narrowing to slits and straddling Long-arms only a few seconds more- she saw one of the other Villains whip around to face her, both hands holding to two guns.

"Bitch!"

She was moving again, rolling off the first and in the direction of Trigger-Happy (and missing the first few shots he sent at her), her hands getting swallowed up in a haze of black- distorting her figure and steeped in something like shadow as her hands... Turned into some mutation between her actual hands, and _paws_ \- with claws long and sharp and shinning obsidian in the harsh lights of the garage. She swiped upward, her claws tearing across both of Trigger-Happy's hands in one fluid motion, earning a well of scarlet and a shout of pain from him as he dropped his weapons. They clattered to the ground at her feet, and she kicked them away so they disappeared under a few cars and out of sight- before she ducked under the swing of his now bloody hand coming toward her.

She straightened up all the way, jumping up into the air with an insane amount of speed and even grace, she swung her leg out in midair and caught Trigger-Happy on the jaw with her boot. He yelled, sputtering as he was thrown straight into the taillight of a nearby car, and hit the ground, groaning. Spirit landed in a crouch on the ground not two seconds later, her attention already shifting towards the next one and her claws leaving small scratches in the cement as her Shifted-Hands met the floor.

 _That's two-_

She heard the air whine, something sharp and high-pitched underneath the string of curses that most of the other four Villains let out. If she were Shifted all the way into a cat, her fur would have been standing on end- but the hair on the back of her neck sufficed, instinct telling her she needed to move, and fast. She jumped, partially crouched still and more animal-movement than human as she landed on a car for half a second, before jumping to a different one- the place she had previously been standing was now a decent sized crater in the floor, and the first car she jumped on top had a beachball-sized hole tearing straight through it's middle... In the matter of a few seconds and another high-pitched whine that made her ears ring slightly.

 _Well that's a hell of a Quirk... Definitely do not wanna get hit by that_

Her head snapped around, eyes searching the four of them left and quickly trying to pinpoint which asshat was the one putting holes in everything- that one needed to be down for the count, like _now_.

One of them, an older man than the first two, with a scruffy beard and sunken in eyes- he was facing her direction both hands extended, his hands shaping an 'O' out in front of him and glowing pale grey.

 _Gotta be you_

She jumped off the car, hitting the floor and rolling forward again toward the car that- thanks to Holes- was now in two pieces... Mostly. She ducked down behind the smaller piece of mangled metal and whatnot, her person already being lost to the black-red haze that had her looking mote fractured reality than human in the middle of moving- Shifting from one form and to the next effortlessly.

The floor of the parking garage shook under their feet as her hooves hit the floor, ten-times bigger and a jet black Rhino again- hooking her horn under the mangled machine and threw her head up- launching the couple ton sheet metal and parts across toward Holes with more speed than he, or any of his compatriots had been expecting.

Holes hissed, his Quirk flaring and hands stretched out toward the half of the car suddenly hurled his way- the air whined and shook slightly as a hole suddenly carved through the oncoming car, a blast of sheer, pure force that shattered metal and piping and everything in between straight up the middle. Doing so made it that the car fell apart and wouldn't ram into him, his eyes narrowed and clearly miffed as he searched for where that massive, god for-fucksaking _Rhino_ had been- only to have his heart plummet when there was no sign of Animal Spirit at all.

"Watch it-!"

The warning to his left came too late, his body got shoved forward as Spirit rammed into him from behind- one hand on the back of his neck and the other grabbing hold of one of his arms to twist it around. He grunted, the wind knocked out of him and a sharp jolt of pain running through his shoulder as his chin smashed into the cement hard enough to make his teeth clack. He felt something rough and sturdy wrap tightly around the arm she was holding- a length of deep brown strap that had previously been crisscrossed around her thigh- and and she had it knotted around his arm in the few instances between knocking him down and hitting the floor. Her other hand shot out to twist his free hand around too, knotting the strap around that arm and pinning his hands behind his back no matter how much he struggled against it- she was just stronger than he was.

 _And three-_

"F-fucking... Shit...!" He snapped,

"Hey, bitch!"

Her head turned just enough to see the biggest of the group (the one who'd launched that car at that Officer a bit before, actually) moving toward her and the man she had pinned. He was six heads taller than her and _covered_ in muscle, with a head that was shaped more like a square than the 'normal' human physique- he dropped one of the bags to the floor and they spilled, scattering money over the floor and earning a sharp yell from one of his comrades for 'being stupid and losing the money'.

He was right behind her, his fist raised and ready to swing down and crush her from overhead- without hardly a care about Holes still pinned underneath her.

 _Villains I swear_

She grunted, her arms and muscles straining slightly as she grabbed tight of Holes and lift him up, pulling him and herself out of the way (barely, actually) of Muscleman's fist. The floor shook, air rushing into her face from the impact of his fist against the floor that left the place she and Holes had been- nothing but a hole of crushed cement dust and gravel.

She dropped Holes, letting him fall unceremoniously to the floor with a thud- still bound by the hands and too shocked at nearly being crushed by his 'buddy' to realize he had legs and feet.

"B-bwuah...?! What the _fuck_?! Were you gonna kill me too, dumbass?!" Holes snapped hotly, Spirit left Holes where he was, her head craning slightly at just how much taller Muscleman was compared to her, sweatdropping.

 _... Yeah... You're big..._

She huffed, dropping down into a crouch as her body got lost to the black-red haze.

 _... Aaaaand I'm not really interested in starting a wrestling match with both of us weighing about 4 tons up here, so I'll deal with you in a little._

She Shifted back into a cat again, pushing herself forward and skirting around Muscleman entirely- but not without nicking his ankles a bit so he focused on her instead of untying Holes.

"Gah-! She fucking scratched me!"

His foot slammed down, trying to stomp on her probably- but she was already racing across the pavement toward the next Villain, whose many (like eight) arms were holding to no small number of bags- probably filled with money just like the one Muscleman had... Or maybe just merchandise.

 _These guys rob some place?_

Eight-Arms dropped his bags as she got closer to him, looking both a bit panicked and considerably miffed as he squared up to face her- and whatever incoming attack she had planned for him.

"You idiots! We're supposed to be finding some place to hide, not fighting!" The last one snapped hotly, a guy who looked normal enough, if a bit unkempt and flustered. He was holding tightly to a rather large bag, his blue eyes glinting furiously as he scowled at his companions (most of which now were down for the count...).

Spirit veered around Eight-Arm's legs, turning sharply as she got right behind him and ears pressed flat against her head and claws digging into the ground as she pushed herself off the ground at breakneck speed- intent on ramming her body weight into the center of his back and knocking him forward, but he turned faster than she expected.

 _Fine_

She Shifted back into her human self halfway through, Eight-Arm's whipping around in time to face her as her foot slammed down on his shoulder and her hand shot down and caught his wrist as he swung one of his fists up. Her hands like mutated paws and shinning black claws dug into his skin as he hissed, several of his other arms moving to strike out toward her as Spirit hopped off his shoulder and behind him with ease, her feet touching the floor only a few seconds long before spinning- and swinging her leg out around with it. The back of her heel met his middle, driving the air from him and knocking him to the ground with a painful thud.

She stiffened, her eyes narrowing to slits as she felt the floor rumble with the footsteps of Muscleman charging at her from behind. Her head twisted back, just enough to see him and her body already reacting to it as she pushed herself up- jumping into the air and arcing backwards in a back flip. She landed on his shoulder in a crouch, hands, feet (which were now Halfway-Shifted into paws too, like her hands) and claws digging into his clothes and skin for balance. She missed the meaty fist he swung her way at first, and he recoiled slightly as she landed on him.

He growled, both hands moving toward her in an attempt to swipe her off or crush her in his grasp- either way, get her off and stop her being there was all that was on his mind. She jumped backwards, easily flipping off his shoulder and through the air to land in a crouch just behind him- her red eyes locking on to his feet and grumbling.

She darted underneath him, her figure blurring and distorting even more as her form changed into that of the Rhino again and she arched up, huffing in slight effort as she forced herself up onto her hind-legs, throwing her body weight against him from underneath. His feet left the floor as she hoisted him up, sending him flying backwards to land on the roof of a car- yelling out as the machine caved under his weight and the garage shook with the sound of it too.

Her front hooves hit the floor with a thud, her crimson eyes moving toward Eight-Arms who recoiled, paling slightly as he stared down a beast that was a good three heads his height and 4 tons his weight. Spirit snorted, her hoof pawing at the ground as she lowered her head a bit, facing his direction and tensing- about to charge.

"Ah... c...crap...?" He stammered, quaking from head to foot and looking ready to pass out. Spirit started forward, rushing across the small space between them as Eight-Arms stumbled back, looking ready to bolt.

Spirit stiffened, her momentum stumbling as pain shot up around her legs and over her body- the air whistling slightly as she hit the floor, her legs suddenly... bound...?!

 _Oh you have got to be kidding me-_

The garage shook as she hit the floor with an audible thud, cursing under her breath and seeing the lengths of shiny silver wire coiled tightly around every leg and around her torso- strong and biting as it dug into her skin slightly and being what had her unable to move now. Her red eyes snapped toward the last of the group and the only one she had yet to actually confront, his hands held out toward her and fingers connected by the strange wiring, she huffed.

 _Ass... I guess that's what I get for ignoring you._

"You got her!" Eight-Arms smirked, huffing from the short burst of panic-induced sprinting.

 _Only for about two seconds, trust me_

Her figure melted from view in a cloud of red and black, the wire from String's Quirk growing suddenly slack as her figure shrunk down from it's massive darted out of the cloud, a cat again but not fully defined- leaving trails of black like glass behind her as she dodged her way in and around the wires as String's struggled to maneuver them and catch her again.

 _You are not getting me again, so sorry~_

He stumbled a few steps backward when he realized in between his fumbling that she was getting closer, and closer- and too close. She skirted around the set of wires that tried to tangle around her figure, claws digging into the concrete and her figure never regaining full, non-distorted shape even as she raced across the parking lot and toward him. She jumped upward, missing the line of wires by a few seconds and sending herself into the air, Shifting back into her human form again.

She swung out and he had the better sense (and skill) to dodge the hit, though only narrowly. She twisted, her elbow swinging around to try and catch him instead of pulling back all the way, he stumbled to the left and she growled, her crimson eyes narrowed to slits. She heard the wire pull, the silvery shine of it catching at the corner of her eye as she ducked down underneath it as it moved toward her.

She took the last step forward, her feet twisting around as she brought herself up to him and in front of him- she pushed herself up, her fist swinging forward and ramming straight into the center of his torso and right into his solar plexus with enough force to crack a wall. He doubled over, coughing out and wheezing as his legs gave out on him and his senses too- all with one, harsh, swift hit and Spirit felt his body weight fall into her.

 _Four down_

She shifted, letting him fall to the floor with a soft thud as she turned- her red eyes flashing as she felt her heart drop.

 _Crap-_

She didn't have time to move, her body got jolted painfully as a very large hand grabbed hold of her, knocking the breath from her and swinging her around. Her feet left the floor, his grip on her torso tight and suffocating as Muscleman lifted her off the floor and smirked in triumph, she frowned, her hands starting to disappear in a haze of black- ready to Shift, but she hadn't the time.

"Hope the kitty can fly!"

There was a rush as he spun around, his arm swinging forward with her in it as he threw her straight across the level and over the barrier that barred the edge of the building- sending her into instant free fall 17 floors up. The city lights dazzled compared to the night sky, and the harsh lighting she left behind in the Parking Garage itself, the view of Muscleman and Eight-Arms lost in about three seconds as gravity did it's job- and Spirit let out an aggravated growl.

 _I can't believe that asshat really just through me off the building!_

She twisted, her eyes moving up toward the black sky overhead and grimacing- black and red flowing off her body in bits and fractured pieces as her form started to blur, and all she could see were bits of ebony colored energy- bits that shown like glass and flashed crimson in the lowlight.

 _I wanted something to do... but this is stupid_

She was still falling, her hands moving out on either side of her and completely at ease... if a little miffed.

Her attention fixed on something among that flurry of black pieces falling into the air above her, her red eyes glinting and fixed... on something _red._

One single feather- vermilion and striking against the black all around her, fluttering among a sea of black pieces of fractured form and reality. One single, large crimson colored feather that stuck out like a drop of blood in snow... ebony colored snow.

Her freefall seemed to slow as she caught sight of it, riveted on it and nothing but it- it's color was... enrapturing. So, so different from what she was used to... from herself, even. Everything in her life was always so, inky, pitch black.

 _What is that?_

"Need a lift?"

* * *

 **Hello! This is EnergyMageFrea posting to a separate account! (QwQ because I feel guilty starting another BNHA story whilst also still having so many other ongoing stories that I am so slow to update)**

 **This Account plays host to 'Ebony' ! Featuring my Pro Hero Animal Spirit and her story!**

 *****PLEASE UNDERSTAND that Ebony is updated sporadically and only when I feel like it! It does not take precedence over my other stories or my other Main Account**

 **That being said please check out EnergyMageFrea for several Fairy Tail fics, and my My Hero AizawaXOC fic! Thanks~~**

 **ANYHOO**

 **This is a HawksXOC story! It'll follow Spirit and Hawks exploits (and mischief? Lol), exploring how they get to know another/annoy one another, it's designed to be a bit more fun and light hearted compared to my other My Hero Academia Story 'Sixth Sense'**

 ****ALSO if you hit up my Wattpad (has the same username), you can see the picture I created of Animal Spirit!**

 **I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading ~**

 **Please, Follow, Fav and Review if you can! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2- Red

**Chapter 2**

 **Red**

 **.:+:.**

 _No_

 _She turned her back on him, her eyes locked onto the ground and not daring to let them move upward._

 _No_

 _Not now_

 _Not again_

 _She knew he was keeping his eyes on her, she could feel the stare digging into her shoulder blades._

 _I can't... We can't_

 _Just... for once... take no as an answer_

 _Leave it_

 **.:+:.**

 _She was still falling, her hands moving out on either side of her and completely at ease... if a little miffed._

 _Her attention fixed on something among that flurry of black pieces falling into the air above her, her red eyes glinting and fixed... on something red._

 _One single feather- vermilion and striking against the black all around her, fluttering among a sea of black pieces of fractured form and reality. One single, large crimson colored feather that stuck out like a drop of blood in snow... ebony colored snow._

 _Her freefall seemed to slow as she caught sight of it, riveted on it and nothing but it- it's color was... enrapturing. So, so different from what she was used to... from herself, even. Everything in her life was always so, inky, pitch black._

 _What is that?_

 _"Need a lift?"_

Spirit's heart leapt in surprise, her eyes widening in tandem with it as the sudden voice reached her ear- from where she was, you know... falling 17 stories down, currently.

 _What..?!_

Gravity got halted and so did her falling as something caught her, hands curling under her back and shoulders and her knees as the owner of that voice out of nowhere caught her bridal style in midair. They stopped, hovering in air at about the 10th level or so, and the haze of black that had been engulfing her figure died away as she failed to keep her attention on Shifting. She stiffened on instinct at the sudden contact, her head snapping around as her eyes fell on her 'rescuer', a waft of air rushing up around them in the cool night sky they hovered in so easily.

The lights from the city glinted from his earrings, feathery eyebrows raised as he smirked at her slightly- messy, ash blond hair pushed back and windswept. He had on a black shirt with a wavy silver pattern, a tan jacket, black gloves, lighter pants. There were headphones hung around his neck, she could hear the music playing with how close the two of them were, and his eyes glinted from behind the blue visor he had were distinctive black triangles located near the inner corners of his dark eyes, angled downwards and almost animalistic in a way... a contrast to what was more or less, his human appearance.

Well, mostly human- discounting the very large, bright red _wings._

Her eyes darted quickly from him and toward said wings, watching the vermilion feathers ruffle as he beat them up and down to stay afloat, the air shaping and molding underneath him with what had to be ease.

 _Wings... bright red wings..._

He let out a breath that sounded amused, smirking as he caught the way she was staring at said wings- her red eyes darted back toward him upon hearing the breath he let out. He smiled dryly, quirking a brow as her expression fell a little flat. "You good there?" He hummed easily, "Sorry to sweep in like that, but it's a better alternative to falling to your death, yeah?" Spirit blinked, her eyes narrowing as he laughed a bit.

"Anyway~! Figured I'd lend a hand, since you're handling the guys that got away while I was busy with the rest of their crew- Ah~! Pretty impressive by the way, you took four of them out all by yourself, huh? And it's not even been that long~" He went on brightly, Spirit eyes narrowed further at the words. "So, guess this is me, making up for making you cleanup my job. Glad to be of service, but I'll take everything from here, cool~?" Spirit's eyes flashed, her lips curling downward at the edges as she felt something in her just... _irk,_ at what he said- and at that smile he gave her, so carefree and so... cocky, maybe?

"Ah, yeah no- this _isn't_ you making up for anything." She muttered, his eyebrows raised a bit at the answer, his head tilting.

"Oh~?" He hummed curiously, Spirit grumbled.

"First; I wasn't falling to my death." Spirit grumbled, he blinked. "Second; I don't need you to 'take care' of anything, I was doing just fine on my own. If anything, _you're_ the one that needs help- didn't you say that they got away on _your_ watch?"

"Oh, a bit touchy huh~?" He replied lazily, none at all bothered with the rather cold reply. "Grumpy cause you missed a few hours of sleep last night~?" Spirit stiffened, her face pulling into a scowl as a vein ticked on her forehead.

 _Do I really look that tired?_

 _Forget that, it doesn't matter-_

"Yeah alright, how about you just fuck off and drop me, Bird-Boy? Thanks." Spirit muttered,

"Mmm, _'Boy'?_ You can't be any older than me~!" He retorted easily, "And I'm not gonna drop you, that wouldn't be very Hero-like~"

"Fine. Don't drop me." She muttered, her eyes flashing. "But I'm gonna finish apprehending those Villains you lost, _Hero."_

She didn't give him any chance to reply, a black haze sprung up around her body and her weight in his arms lift as she left his hold- and that cloud of ebony in air before him condensed into something else. The sound of wings beating at air met his ears, and it wasn't his own- the city lights shone off the ethereal, inky black feathers from the jet black eagle that had suddenly come into being in front of him. His eyes met those same crimson ones belonging to the woman he had caught in his arms, the eagle's wings beat as bits and pieces like jet black glass seemed to rain from the feathers... almost like snow, until it faded and it was just one (admittedly rather large) pure black eagle.

His face that had fallen slightly in awe, brightened a bit in intrigue. "Oooh, I see~! You really didn't need me to sweep you up, huh?" He smirked, one hand fell on his hip as the other gestured toward her a bit. "Come to think of it, I actually recognize you, huh?"

Spirit huffed, her wings beating down quickly as she pushed herself up in air, climbing higher and leaving him behind without a reply.

 _Yeah, yeah..._

"Hey! Wait up!" He called behind her, the sound of his wings beating mixed with her own as she flew back up to the 17th level and the fight she had (unwillingly) left behind. She still didn't wait, she was miffed, at least a little.

 _"Grumpy cause you missed a few hours of sleep last night~?"_

 _I actually fucking hate it when people point that out, who knew?_

"Hey~! You don't have to rush off, ya know~"

 _Plus he's a bit of a cheeky git_

She slowed up as she reached the barrier on the edge of the 17th floor, by now already able to hear the radio-chatter from Officer Nakamura's backup and the sound of engines getting closer to the parking lot. There was also a fair bit of grumbling and muffled cursing, which she found a bit odd-

She hovered slightly over the barrier wall, fluttering to a halt as she lighted down on the edge with ease, her eyes scanning the level and surprised to find that Muscleman and Eight-Arms were tied up (quite literally) by an arrangement of vermilion feathers. She folded her wings to her side, her head tilting at the sight- and wondering just how strong said feathers were to be pinning both Villains like steel chains... And when did he...?

She Shifted back into her Regular self, crouched and balancing on top of the wall with ease and not glancing back even as she felt the air rush up to meet her as the man with the vermilion wings stepped on to the wall beside her, his hands in his coat pockets.

"See~? Everything's all handled, the cops are rounding them up, no need to worry~" he hummed brightly, "So, while we have some downtime before the Press gets here, let's chat, yeah~?" She grimaced a bit, biting the inside of her cheek and not looking his way. He stepped off the wall with ease, stepping in front of her instead and those large, strikingly red wings of his folding into his back as much as was possible as he smiled lazily at her. She blinked just once, her expression as expressionless as she could manage and elbows on her knees,

"Animal Spirit, right? The No. 26 Hero- Quirk: Transformation?" He asked lightly, "No. 26 Hero and only top-ranking Pro on the circuit who isn't signed on with any Agency at all~ Oh, and also the youngest, Top-Rated Hero on the charts, until a few weeks ago, hmm?" He smirked a bit, not so much cocky no, but more... carefree, maybe. "That is, until someone younger than you hit the No. 24 spot, anyway~! That's me, by the way- Hawks at your service~" he dipped his head a bit in a mock little bow as Spirit let out a small sigh,

"I'm well aware who you are." She mumbled, his eyes glinted a bit at the words. "... It would be a bit hard not to, considering the news, internet and literally every magazine company out there is obsessed with you right now..."

"Oh, but they don't just talk about me~" He chuckled, "The media has plenty to say about you too, Spirit. A lot of them like to compare the two of us, you know~?" He gestured between himself and Spirit with a hand as she gave him a flat stare, that he didn't seem to notice in the slightest.

 _Did he just call me Spirit?_

He shrugged a little, still smiling so easily and so at ease with literally everything. Boyish temperament, or inexperience, persistent youth and vigor... Whatever.

"Not a surprise really though, what with us being just about the same age- _the_ youngest Pros who are as popular as we are. And now that I've struck out from my old Agency to be on my own like you, the media's been putting our names together for a lot of their stories lately." He went on lightly, "You've got an impressive Resolve rate, from what I've read~! You've had a bunch of success with capturing Villains as well as helping resolve accidents and rescue operations. You're so popular you could have the pick of any Agency out there, and I bet you've got a bunch knocking on your door all the time, huh?" He went on and Spirit just blinked, her eyes trailing passed him to watch the Police at work for a few seconds. "I get it though, Agencies have so many rules and restrictions it's pretty suffocating~ That and it makes having fun harder, that's why I decided it was better to start out on my own and make my own rules, and my own Agency~!"

 _Is there a point to the rambling?_

"That bit is still in the works though, but I doubt it'll be hard to get it going~" He murmured, "I'm surprised we ran into one another today though, you don't usually work in this district, huh? Not that I'm complaining, I've been wanting to meet the Hero the Media keeps sizing me up with~" He said brightly, leaning back a bit as he smirked, his eyes trailing up and down her figure for a minute as he seemed to just... Take her in.

 _You don't usually work in this district either, Bird-Brain._

"Bit bummed I didn't get to see you take out those guys personally, but I'm not entirely disappointed." He said coolly, Spirit's eyes flashed a little. "So by the way, your Quirk? Transformation is a bit general, do you only change into Animals~?"

Spirit halted, her eyes narrowed and settling him with a steady stare for a few seconds at the question.

Oh yes, she had heard of (and read about, watched on the news...) the now utterly famous Pro Hero 'Hawks'. Youngest Pro Hero on the circuit, where she used to be- and now youngest, most popular Pro Hero in Japan, and one that was quickly climbing the ranks. Who, as he had already mentioned- had surpassed her current rank as the No. 26 Hero and hopped ahead, so that now he was the No. 24. (Between them being the Pro Hero known as Bryzair, who quite frankly- Spirit had never once met nor expected she would, they worked in two completely different districts)

Either which way, Hawks was a trending topic all over Japan and even in other Countries right now, and his popularity kept rising with every fight and every situation of conflict and rescue and whatnot. He got even more attention when he broke off from his used to be Mentor (and No. 4 Hero) Best Jeanist, and became what she was- a Hero with no Agency, and no Affiliation. Solo.

But he was one of those ones that really cared about his image in the media, which was less a surprise since being 'Agency-less' meant you had to keep your business and your own marketing in your own hands. You had to make sure you kept up with the media, with appearances and interviews and all of that nonsense all on your own if you wanted to be Solo and still be popular, and even just make good money.

And he... was admittedly good, at the whole 'media image' thing. He was charming, charismatic on TV, there wasn't a photo yet that he didn't look good in, he had a hell of a fanbase already and probably a dozen or more stations looking for an interview. He didn't shy away from fans or news reporters, he always made sure to make some sort of appearance when his jobs were done and answer questions, take a quick photo- the works.

Which was frankly the opposite behavior of herself, and of which would make for uneasy relations between them... but even then, she made a habit of being at least relatable, pleasant, polite. But given he swept up, 'saved her', and his behavior... it was a bit cheeky, a bit _too_ friendly- and it did, for some reason- _irk_ her.

Especially after he pointed out her lack of sleep.

Spirit forced herself a small breath,

 _Try and be nice..._

"... Is there a reason for the interrogation?" Spirit deadpanned slightly, he blinked. He just smiled. so carefree and at ease despite what slight edge there was to her voice.

"Just trying to get to know you a bit, friendly conversation and all~" he replied brightly, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek.

"... Mhm. Well most people don't just skip straight to the questioning about someone else's Quirk." she mumbled, he shrugged.

"Well I don't see why not, I'm just curious~" he smiled, "Either way, Pro's should get to know one another's Skills and Quirks so they can work together better, right?" She nodded a bit, relenting to the notion before halting when it clicked-

 _Wait a minute_

"... Why does that sound like you expect us to 'work together'?" Spirit murmured slowly, he simply kept smiling, so calm and cool.

"Why not?" He replied easily,

"Really?" She deadpanned, "You? Mr. 'I don't need an Agency or a Partner, or a Mentor or anything of the sort'. The same _you_ \- who ran off from working with Best Jeanist to 'strike out' on your own, like you just said- and the same _you_ who rushes around taking on every Villain and situation at breakneck speed, often times leaving other people to clean up the rest of the mess behind you?" She asked lowly and his cool facade seemed to crack, just faintly. "I've seen and heard about how you work with other Heroes, Hawks- and I'm not really looking to be the one cleaning up after you." She grumbled lowly, her eyes flashing as she saw one of the police hoisted up Strings.

 _-not that, you know, I didn't literally do just that right now... Damn it_

"If the situation arise where we have to work together, then fine- but to be honest, I'm not looking for a collaboration with you, or anyone else." she added in shortly, his hand fell on his chest as he feigned offense.

"Oh, that _stings_ Spirit." He sighed, though he sounded too amused to be any semblance of actually offended or to actually have any hurt feelings on the matter. She rolled her eyes a little and hopped off the wall, her feet hitting the floor with a soft tap. "Am I reading this right, or do you not seem to like me very much~? If I did something to rub you the wrong way, I didn't mean to, ya know~" he hummed, she let out a small breath as his carefree smile returned. She moved to slip passed him, and he stepped to the side a bit, his wings ruffling slightly as he did so and she could still see him smirking as he glanced to him sideways.

"Or maybe you just dislike me on principle, for passing you up on the Charts?" He hummed, his wings fluttering a bit childishly at what was clearly a tease- Spirit groaned under her breath.

"It has nothing to do with the Ranking. And I don't dislike you-" she muttered, her movement passed him halting in the meantime as she faced him a bit again. The words came out exasperated, and ended up breaking off as her nose filled with some wash of air and scent that was just putrid, and sour and... _God damn!_

Her hands shot up to cover her mouth and nose, not able to hold back the half-strangled, half-gagging noise she let out in simple reaction to the smell. Hawks jumped a little, his face falling for once as his carefree demeanor shattered at her sudden change, sweatdropping slightly and a bit nervous as he fidgeted.

"... Tch... That is... Disgusting..." Spirit hissed, her voice muffled by her hands as Hawks wilted a little.

"Ah, I can't smell that bad can I~?" He asked, halfway joking but he didn't sound at all humorous- just unsure as he looked Spirit up and down as she held her hand over her nose a few seconds more. "I mean I've been working all day, but-"

Spirit shook her head, her hand falling as she grimaced- sniffing at the air again and catching that same awful scent again, though this time she was prepared. She stepped forward toward him, Hawks cutting off with the sudden decrease in distance between them and staring slightly as she leaned in, her nose twitching slightly as her face stopped a few inches from his chest. Hawks stiffened, growing slightly rigid in his spot and a little wide eyed as she shifted and sniffed at his wings next- before her hand reached forward and curled gently into the red feathers- a shiver ran up his spine at the sudden contact though Spirit never noticed.

She pushed passed him, ducking under his wing and still sniffing at the air still as she started to move away from him, and follow the scent toward it's origin. Hawks pulled his wings in toward him a bit more tightly as he turned in the direction she left, eyes glinting a little. "It's not you." She mumbled quietly, almost as an afterthought, waving a hand behind her and at him. Hawks blinked, faltering for a few seconds at the words before his feet moved and he began to trail after her in intrigue.

"So~? What do you smell?" He hummed, his eyes widening in awe as her body faded into an ethereal black-red haze like before, but what was left as she Shifted wasn't a bird- but a cat.

"Ooh, so an Eagle and a Cat~! That's two, so your feline nose what's leading you now~?"

Spirit's ears twitched backward at the sound of Hawks' voice, aware he was trailing behind her even as she wove around the cars slowly, ducking behind wheels and nose to the air no matter how much she wished she was going a different direction. She didn't Shift all the way though, her body never fully formed and moving out of being blurred and undistinguished at the edges. She left a trail of glittering black pieces of nothing behind her as she walked,

"Something pretty bad from the reaction earlier~" He went on, keeping from moving among the cars as she was and simply keeping pace as he moved up the middle of the lot. "Trash~? Old food~? Burning oil~?" He went on, hands in his pockets and eyes watching her from the side as she continued forward amongst the cars and the other debris that had been thrown around.

 _Hate to be one of the people with a car in this prefecture... getting out after all of this would be a pain..._

She heard Hawks musing to himself and let out a small sigh to herself,

 _Why is he here, chatting? Bothering?_

"... no, more like rot." She replied back, his eyes widened a little. He mouthed the word to himself, musing almost as Spirit ducked under another car and kept forward.

 _Rot and decay and sour, rancid... death._

"That's a bit of an unsettling answer." Hawks mused quietly, "We talking plant rot or, like body rot?"

Spirit stopped, her nose wrinkling and red eyes landing on a puddle of sticky, thick muddy-orange liquid slowly dripping from the small crevice popped open between a cars fender and the edge of the trunk door. The car itself had been smashed into in all the conflict going on, and the trunk had been knocked ajar by all of it... and now some putrid, awful liquid-goo was slowly dripping out of it.

She Shifted back into her Regular form, crouched on the balls of her feet and eyes narrowed as Hawks drew around the side of the car and his eyes found the puddle too.

"Mystery goo?" He hummed, though he didn't sound at all thrilled nor even the slightest bit amused. Spirit grumbled a bit, standing up straight and her eyes shifting toward the road that lead to the lower levels, already able to hear the chatter and noise of news reporters and the like clawing their way up the parking garage. And soon enough there was a wash of them in view- with a line of Officers stepping up to keep them at bay.

Spirit frowned a bit, shifting herself to stand in front of the trunk and casting Hawks a glance- he blinked. "You gonna crack open the mystery trunk?" He hummed, "Even I can smell something nasty now, opening that might make you throw up, Spirit~"

 _Who does he think I am?_

"Shut up, I'm anything but squeamish, Bird-Brain." She shot back lowly, "Worry about your own stomach, and do me a favor- lift up those pretty freaking red wings of yours and block the view of the cameras." He hesitated for a small second, brow quirking a moment- before he smirked and stepped sideways to be behind her shoulder. His wings shifted, stretching up to half their full length and curling around the both of them and the back of the car- doing what she asked, and blocking what view anyone from the entrance to the level had of the car.

"You think my wings are pretty~?" He smirked, his breath stirring at her neck as he leaned in behind her a bit.

 _Oh I'm sure that little smirk of yours is gonna die real quick-_

Her fingers curled under the lip of the ajar trunk door, holding her breath now and grimacing as she readied herself for what she knew was going to be... terrible.

 _Please, please don't be what I think it is..._

She tugged upward on the trunk door with one quick jolt, the lock breaking away entirely from already being damaged. She lift it slowly, the opening letting loose a wave of air and smell that made her stomach flip- but she swallowed against it. Her hands remained on the trunk door, her eyes narrowing to slits and frowning deeply- she was faintly aware that Hawks moved a hand from his pocket to cover his mouth and nose.

There was a plastic bag filled with that same ugly orange-brown goo, a puncture torn through it and leaking continually around the bent, twisted, malformed tangle of limbs and torso and... organs, swollen and falling apart like meat off a slab.

"Mm... that'd be a dead body." Hawks mumbled behind her, his voice hushed and clearly muffled from the hand he had to ward off the stench. "... a very old, dead body... looks like it's been there for weeks." Spirit's shoulders sagged slightly, her eyes dropping closed and shaking her head a bit as she grumbled under her breath.

 _Damn it..._

She dropped the trunk door back down, shutting it only partially and enough no one could see into it. She turned, hissing under her breath and catching Hawks' eye as he tilted his head at her and the rather annoyed look she had now. "Oh, you look miffed now." He hummed, she huffed. "Frowning because of your distaste for whoever owns this car, or are you still bugged by the smell~?"

"Neither." She muttered, pushing passed him without another word and pulling her phone from the pocket in her suit.

 _11:43_

She let out a low groan and put it back in her pocket, moving toward the nearest Officer- who was already moving toward her with her strap she had used to tie up Holes before.

 _Between going over what happened with the Villains, and now this mess with a freaking dead body in a car... I'm not getting home before 1:30_

She offered up a small smile and a small thanks as he set the strap in her hand, and she leaned in to his ear and told him quickly what was in the car. The Officer stiffened at the words, his eyes wide as he pulled back and she simply nodded, just once. He turned around and quickly sped off to find his Supervisor, leaving Spirit standing where she was and turning her back slightly on the crowd of reporters already lining up behind a hastily thrown together barrier.

 _Fuck. My. Life._

"It's Animal Spirit, and Hawks!"

"Can we grab you for a few questions?"

"What happened here?"

Her eyes dropped to the strap in her hand, her posture wilting a little more and paying the called out questions and the flash of cameras no mind. She moved toward a separate car, propping her foot up on the bumper and she started to wind the strap around her leg and back into it's original place.

 _I take it back, I didn't want anything to do... it would have been so much better to just... not be here._

 _Not fight some Villains_

 _Not find a dead body in a car, rotting_

 _Not run into and get swept up by... him_

"You're not the chatty type, are you Spirit~?"

She stiffened a bit, her hands stalling as she glanced back toward the voice and found Hawks as he moved to place himself right beside the car she was at. He smiled lazily, hands in his pockets and very much at ease despite- well, finding a decomposing body not two minutes ago. She grimaced to herself, tightening the last of the strap and setting her foot back down on the ground, her arms crossing about her chest as she sighed.

"... It's not that I'm not 'chatty', I'm just not in the mood... Besides this is a crime scene now, small-talk doesn't seem appropriate." She grumbled lowly, he hummed a bit.

" 'Not in the mood' because you're lacking sleep?" He quipped brightly, Spirit's face fell as a vein ticked on her forehead, and she bristled.

"I'm gonna be in even less of a mood if you keep pointing that out, Bird-Boy!" She snapped back lowly, he smirked.

"Mhmm, so let me see if I can figure out why you looked so annoyed when we found that poor chap in the car." He hummed, not at all perturbed with her sudden flare of annoyance. "You were planning to call it quits after all of this, but now with the surprise package in the trunk- you're not gonna be getting home for awhile, and that's a bummer on your, clearly already strained, sleep schedule~?"

"So now you're _trying_ to tick me off?" She growled, he chuckled.

"Am I wrong though~?" He asked easily, her eyes flashed. She looked away from him with a huff and a small curse under her breath, and he smiled dryly at the reaction. "Hah, now that does beg the question Spirit~! What is it that kept you from sleep, hmm? Binge-watching your favorite TV Show~? Insomnia~?" He leaned in a bit, smiling still as Spirit growled under her breath. "Domestic conflict with your significant other~?"

"None of the above." Spirit replied lowly, her arms crossing about her chest. "And it's none of your business either, why are you so nosy?"

"I think I'm rather charming." Was the easy reply, she rolled her eyes a little.

 _This guy... ugh I swear-_

"Well, let's see if I can help turn that frown upside down~!" Hawks trilled brightly, comically in a way as he cast her a carefree smirk that she just... _oi_

 _He's like an overgrown child, how has he not gotten killed yet?_

 _This overly confident, nosy, self-assumed 'charming' guy is the famous_ _ **Hawks?**_ _Honestly?_

"Since your _pressed_ for sleep, how about I take care of the logistical stuff with he murdered guy and the Press?" Hawks hummed, Spirit quirked a brow. "I take it you don't intend to really deal with the Media anyway, but the Cops you have little choice~ You'll still have to give your statement about the guys you went head to head with, of course, but I can handle all the other stuff~! Stick around and keep an eye out while the Cops deal with that guy in the trunk and things surrounding that inevitable investigation/headache, all of that, so you can head home~" He smirked a bit more, leaning in almost as a sudden glint came into his eye and Spirit blinked.

 _I don't like that look_

"~but! You gotta answer a few simple, easy little questions first about your Quirk~! I'll even answer the ones you have about mine if ya want~" he added in, almost slyly in a way and Spirit bit the inside of both cheeks.

 _What is with him and my Quirk?_

She didn't like how interested he was, at all

"Fair deal, yeah~?" He smiled easily, her eyes just narrowed further.

... She was dead tired but... She still wasn't sure why he was so interested...

 _... Honestly, what is with this guy...?_

"... What do you want to ask?" She mumbled slowly, his eyes shone slightly.

"First things first! Do you only Transform into Animals, or are humans and objects up for grabs too?" came the repeat of the earlier inquiry, and she blinked.

"... Just animals, no people. Not objects, nothing like that."

"Mmkay, so then can you Transform into any animal or only a set few?" He asked next, "So far I've seen an eagle and a cat- and in the reports there's been mention of a Rhino, and a Bear~! Even a giant cow one time, though don't think that was you~" she blinked,

 _Giant cow? No... Regular cow maybe but not giant-_

"... I can Shift into a lot of animals, but not all of them." she murmured, "Bear, Cat, Eagle, Rhino... those are just a few. It'd take too long to list them all off, though."

"Gotcha~ So when you 'Shift', what's with the whole ghostly, mystical thing? Do you give off some sort of energy or something, or is it just for show? Or is it like 'Magic'? And does that have something to do with the whole, all-black trend ya got going on?" He asked, "Oh, and you can 'Shift' completely into an animal or only part way, yeah?"

 _This is like an interview... Or an interrogation._

"... It's just how my Quirk works. Couldn't tell you why, but the whole 'mystical' ghost sort of thing is just how it is. Energy I guess gets close, but it's just appearance, it doesn't really serve any other purpose." She mumbled, "... Same thing with all black, no matter what animal I turn into. Can't change it, it's just how it works." He nodded a bit and she crossed her arms about her chest. "... And yes, I can choose to only Shift parts of my body instead of all of it. Or I can manifest features and things from Animals separately that I don't have myself, instead of Shifting per say..." She trailed off as his hand raised and he set his chin in his fingers almost thoughtfully.

 _No, seriously- why is he so interested?_

"Cool, cool~" he hummed, "Mmm... That was about all I wanted to ask right away, see that wasn't so bad huh?" He smirked, "I'm sure I'll think of something to ask you another day, but if ya got any questions you wanna ask about my Quirk have at it~! Or if you're even just curious about me in general, then by all means, ask away~"

Spirit stayed quiet for a few seconds, her red gaze narrowed and settled on him with the utmost neutral expression she could have ever mustered- and the most intense one too. Hawks' cheery demeanor even faltered under the look as the silence stretched on a bit too long for comfort, a bead of sweat appearing on his brow and head tilting just so faintly. "... You good there, Spirit..?" He hummed slowly,

She hated it when people were so interested about her Quirk

"... you have wings. You fly. You control separate feathers remotely via telepathy or some shit like that, and they are stronger than regular feathers." She said at length, her tone rather matter of factly. Her eyes fell closed as she let out a small sigh and shook her head, "... honestly, Hawks- your Quirk isn't that hard to understand, and there's nothing I'm burning to as about it, or you... and since, like I already said- I'm not in the mood... I'm just gonna square away my half of this mess with the police and go home." He seemed a bit taken aback with her answer, and her lack of interest- his face twisted a bit and his shoulders seemed to sag, almost disappointed for a few seconds, before he smiled calmly.

"Well then, I'll have to catch you again when you're in a better mood, huh?" He hummed brightly, she blinked, her eyes narrowed at him as she moved to walk passed him, and he stepped aside to let her- waving a hand in near animation. "I betcha we got a lot more in common, Spirit~! It'd be cool to chat with ya a bit, but I can wait for another day~! I wanna see you in action too, so maybe I'll pop by when you're working, lend a hand, or just watch ya work, who knows~"

 _And what on earth do we have in common, besides being young, lone wolves in the world of Heroes?_

She didn't say anything, she sighed internally and kept walking. "... whatever." She mumbled, he just kept smiling... _idiot._

"That's not a no~!" He trilled happily, she rolled her eyes a bit and kept walking.

 _He's an overgrown child..._

She could feel his eyes darting toward her from time to time even as she settled in to giving her report of events to the Police. She could _feel_ his eyes manage over toward her back even as he sidetracked himself to make an appearance with the media, answering questions, taking photos- even a few autographs she was pretty sure. Once she was done talking she moved to take a speedy, quiet exit on the opposite end of the garage- only to get called back by his bright, calm voice.

"Spirit~! Wait a minute, before ya go~!"

She grumbled under her breath, her eyes dropping closed and her back toward him for a few seconds.

 _... It's fine... I suppose it would be rude not to say thank you... for handling the shit with the body so I can home early..._ and with that thought she turned back around, finding again that casual smirk and non-bothered expression as he drew up in front of her. The both of them not three feet from the wall at the edge of the building she had been heading toward for an exit (barring stairs or anything... normal. She had to make a bit of an abnormal exit if she was gonna avoid press waiting outside the garage itself.)

"You flying home~?" He asked easily, noticing her intended path apparently, and she sighed.

"That is the plan." She mumbled,

"Avoiding paparazzi?" He smirked, she frowned. He laughed lightly, "Ah, probably best anyway- you look _super_ tired, people would notice in the pictures~! Not that you still wouldn't look cool in them, mind you~!"

"... I'm fully convinced you _are_ trying to tick me off." She muttered dryly, he shrugged a bit playfully... and she honestly couldn't find a reason to be amused, it just _irked_ her more. "Is this really how you make first impressions with other people?" She grumbled,

"Ah, I thought it was going rather well between us~?" He smiled, she huffed.

 _Guess again Bird-Brain- you are annoying me... but maybe it's just because I'm fucking tired... damn it I don't even know anymore._

"... I'm leaving, before I find a reason to bite you." She grumbled, he smirked.

"Oooh, that's a bit kinky~" he replied without skipping a beat,

"Shut up." Spirit snapped quickly, cutting him off only slightly and he just seemed all the more amused. She shot him a glare, "Bye Bird-Boy, enjoy staying up, dealing with everything..." She turned her back on him and hopped lightly on top of the wall, balancing on the edge of it and seeing the ground 17 stories below- but not at all bothered by it. She paused, grumbling under her breath and her back turned to him- she could _feel_ him watching...

"... and I guess thanks, for taking care of it so I don't have to." She mumbled, almost stubbornly as she turned on the wall to face him- the cool night air washing against her back as he smiled and dipped his head.

"My pleasure~!" He hummed, his smile turning to a coy little smirk. "Sweet dreams, Spirit~!" He chuckled with a small little wave, she rolled her eyes at him, her hands on her hips and eyes dropping closed as black began to rise up behind her, sending bits of hazy nothing falling into the air- and he watched in interest.

"... you're a damn child..." She mumbled, shaking her head at him but never meeting his gaze as she took a step back, and promptly fell out of sight. Hawks stiffened a little on instinct, taking the few steps forward to bring himself up to the wall as his hands fell atop it- searching for that Pro and expecting the sight of that jet black eagle from before. His jaw dropped, a rush of air suddenly wafting over him and the sound of wingbeats filling his ears as Spirit came back up into view- still very much human, but more-

There were a pair of massive, ethereal, faintly see-through black-red wings on her back spilling a river of dark glittering pieces into the air underneath her as she pumped up, hovering in air before him. His eyes flashed, his gaze trailing over the wings in quick succession and she blinked at the awed look he had now,

 _He looks almost as fixed as everyone else when they see me Shift, huh..?_

"... woah.." He breathed, almost too low to hear as she tilted her head a bit- but the awed expression lasted only a few seconds more, before he was grinning, excited and like a kid in a candy store. He leaned over the railing a bit, his wings fluffing up in excitement behind him. "You have wings too~!?"

"... mmm... seriously...? You asked me how my Quirk worked, Bird-Brain. Why do you look so surprised?" Spirit mumbled, her eyes flashing as he kept smiling.

"Well I knew you could turn into a bird, but I didn't imagine you could Shift to have wings like me~!" He replied back brightly, she sweatdropped.

 _So what part of 'I can choose to only Shift parts of my body instead of all of it. Or I can manifest features and things from Animals separately that I don't have myself' did you not get?_

She didn't feel like arguing the point though, she just shook her head a bit and let out a long sigh. "... you're kinda hopeless, aren't you...?" She mumbled near half to herself, he heard it though and chuckled.

"And you're kinda grumpy, huh~?" He quipped back with ease, her jaw snapped shut as a vein ticked on her forehead. "But hey~~! I told ya we had things in common~!" He paused, looking a bit more excited as he leaned over the railing a bit more. "Oh! I've gotta _great_ idea; we gotta do a photoshoot sometime~! We'll be matching, and we'll totally look super cool~!" Spirit stiffened a little, brow quirking as she just stared at him.

 _Uh...yeah... No..._

 _... He's acting like we're suddenly chummy out of nowhere? What the hell?_

Her body got swallowed up in a haze, distorted and blurry as more pieces of sheer black continued to shed from her wings- before her form solidified again into the eagle. She hovered in air a few more seconds, Hawks still watching with that smirk of his- _oi_

"Don't count on it." She sighed, before flapping harder and turning- she took off, climbing higher in air as she left him behind.

"That's not a definite no, Spirit~!"

She never replied and he stayed there leaning against the wall and his chin and cheek falling in his hand as he watched that ebony black bird fly further and further away until even he couldn't see her anymore. He smiled softly to himself, his fingers tapping lightly against his jaw as he hummed under his breath a bit.

"... Well, you're much more interesting than I thought..." He murmured to the air, and to himself. He smirked, chuckling under his breath.

"Hehe... If a bit grumpy~! Heh... But I can work with that..."


	3. Chapter 3- Hours

**Chapter 3**

 **Hours**

 **.:+:.**

 _I cannot do this with you again_

 _Please don't make me chase you away... Not again_

 _Please_

 **.:+:.**

The sudden strum of a guitar jolted her from something of a dead sleep, and set her heart and nerves running instantly wild. She flinched, the noise continuing on her ears and the light of the phone in the sheer dark of the room making her head hurt-

 _... What the fuck...? I can't have possibly been asleep that long..._

 _"Back in black,_  
 _I hit the sack,_  
 _I've been too long I'm glad to be back,_  
 _Yes, I'm let loose,_  
 _From the noose-"_

And then the words to the ringtone started up and she groaned, shutting her eyes against the light and hand reaching out to grab it. It was so, so loud-

 _Jesus_

 _"- That's kept me hanging about,_  
 _I've been looking at the sky_  
 _'Cause it's gettin' me-"_

The song cut off abruptly, sending the room into a blissful sense of silence that had been shattered so god damn annoyingly. She rolled over in bed to face the ceiling, her eyes seeing nothing but sheer dark as she brought the phone up to her ear.

 _I swear... Who in the fuck is calling me **now?**_

"... Hello...?" She mumbled allowed, reminding herself to try and not be so bitchy- though it was warranted, for being woken up.

"Hello Animal Spirit, this is Director Jisou from the Central Events Coordination Center. Is this a bad time? I know you tend to Patrol during these hours so I thought it best to call now."

 _Actually yes- this is the fucking worst time you could have called... But now I'm already fucking awake so-_

"No, no its fine... What can I help you with, Director?" She murmured, her free hand moving up to run her hand through her hair.

"Ah, I'm calling because we are in the middle of coordinating security for the UA Sports Festival coming up in a weeks time. UA has asked for our help in managing security around the school for the event, and we've been reaching out to Pro Heroes based in and around the area for assistance. If at all possible, and should you have the time- we would greatly appreciate if you were to help with security during the event." The 'Director' started in with little a pause, and Spirit stifled a yawn as she listened. "We do not anticipate much of any conflict, but none the less the Sports Festival is a national event and there will be no small number of the general population on site for the affair. The number of on-site spectators is expected to reach well into the 10,000's, and we'll need plenty of capable and experienced Pros on hand to ensure everything goes smoothly."

 _Ah... UA... The Sports Festival... Of course..._ _...mm... That is a lot of people..._

"Given your impressive Resolve Rate and the ability you've shown for handling a number of situations- we would appreciate you lending a hand for the Event, Animal Spirit." The man went on, and to be honest she was only half-listening.

 _... Sounds like a lot of standing around..._

"You will of course be paid for you time, should you agree."

 _... aaaaand that's all I needed to hear~!_

"Yeah, of course I'll help out. Just tell me what time I need to be there- and I will." She replied easily, "And you'll want me to work for the whole Festival, yeah?"

"Yes, if that works well with you?"

 _I'll just have to put in to get off work early that day... Worth it, I'm getting paid and security is easy..._

... Needless to say she was in a bit of a better mood now, from being woken up.

"Yep, not a problem." She hummed,

"Great. I have some documents and badges set for the Pros working security, I'll need to mail them to you-" He asked next, she paused. "-Given you don't have an Agency you're signed on with, I don't have a Forwarding Address on file for you, or much anything else... I actually had to ask another Pro Hero for your phone number." He commented,

"... Death Arms?" She murmured,

"Yes." The Director hummed, she nodded a bit to herself.

"To make things easy, could you just mail the paperwork and badge for me in the same delivery to Death Arms?" Spirit murmured, "Truth be told, I don't really have a mail address..."

 _Kinda need a mailbox for that... Or even regular mail service to where I live..._

"... If that's too much work I can just swing by your office and pick everything up myself." She murmured, there was a pause in the other end- faint and quick- before the man spoke up again.

"No issue at all, I'll send everything to Death Arms." The Director murmured with ease, "That delivery is set to go out later today, it should arrive at Death Arm's Agency within the next few days. Thank you for your help, Animal Spirit- I look forward to seeing you at the Sports Festival. In the meantime, should I need to get ahold of you- I assume this number will be appropriate?"

"Yep."

"Very good, thank you for talking with me, have a good day, Animal Spirit."

"You too."

The call cut off and Spirit drew the phone back in front of her face to see the time, her eye twitching as she read over the numbers.

 _4:03_

 _Oh you have got to be... I was set to get up at 4:30... But now I'm awake, so I guess fuck it_

She let out an aggravated groan and pushed herself out of bed, walking across a cold floor in a near pitch black room and not caring to turn on a light- darkness never bothered her anyway.

Black was normal

She instinctively veered around the rice-paper privacy wall not far from the bed and headed straight (and slightly around the closet..) toward a four foot long 'hallway' that ended in a door. She pushed that door open and flipped the light on in the bathroom, before shutting it behind her and turning on the shower. She abandoned her phone on the counter across from the shower itself, pausing only long enough to turn on a news station- and only able to hear a low rumble of the words that came on over the water itself, not that she cared. She shrugged off her sleepwear and stepped into the water that was only lukewarm- and wouldn't be getting much warmer, no matter what she wanted.

 _As per the usual..._

 _"... it was a slow night for most of our Pros in Hosu! Most went home with nothing to do, the only story of note is not so exciting- but interesting no doubt! Hosu was visited by not just one, but two unlikely Heroes last night, both who left their usual districts! Reports coming in say that the No. 26 Hero, Animal Spirit was seen in the company of the widely popular No. 24 Hero, Hawks!"_ The speaker on the news station came to life as Spirit ran her hands through her hair,

 _"... Pro Hero Hawks flew into Hosu last night in time to derail a group of Villains robbing Daiko Mall. The Villains themselves were all D-Class and stood no match against the No. 24, who apprehended 16 of them swiftly! In the midst of rounding up the bulk of the thieves, 6 of them managed a short-lived getaway to the Hosu Prefecture Parking Garage. From there the 17th level of the garage sustained minimal damage as the Villains were confronted by an on-duty officer- the Villains pinned that Officer for a very short time before they were confronted by Pro Hero Animal Spirit. Animal Spirit was able to quickly subdue four of the Villains on her own before Hawks reached the scene, and then rounded up the last two himself."_

 _... oh good... they're not reporting I got thrown out of the building..._

 _... well... this station anyway... no telling what the rest say..._

 _"... all merchandise and money stolen in the theft has been reclaimed, and all Villains on scene have now been arrested. Despite what minimal damage the garage and the mall sustained, the police presence at the Parking Garage lasted much longer than normal, and there have been scattered reports coming in that a possible body was found in the trunk of a car in the lot. The police have strung up tape and cordoned off the area, and have thus far given no formal statement on the rumors- Hawks has made no comment on the rumors either, even as he made an appearance with media crews and photographers that arrived at the scene. Animal Spirit left the scene quickly once giving her statements to the Police, and there have been no further reports of the No. 26 Hero today- possibly marking an early night for the Hero who prowls the nightlife and early hours of our city."_

 _... yeah... left early to sleep before I have to work again... and woken up half an hour earlier than I wanted to be..._

Her hands moved up to rub at her face, scrubbing off the dark crimson paint drawn under her eyes and over her bottom lip and chin... makeup and 'fixings' for her Hero costume that had no place in the job she would be headed to soon.

 _"... Hawks took time to comment on his plans for starting up his own Agency. The No. 24 Hero broke off from his former mentor Best Jeanist and left his Agency to fulfill his own agenda and take his career into his own hands. This choice was admonished by many in the Hero community and Hawks has received no small amount of backlash, with many calling him childish and naive- and warning he's pushing things too hard, and too fast. There may be truth to these claims, but despite that- Hawks has continued to gain popularity and climb the charts despite his 'brash' behavior, and has in fact earned just as much praise for his independent behavior and willingness to challenge the norms. This mixed response to his decision to fly solo and manage his own Image draws many parallels to Animal Spirit, who in her two years since entering the Pro Hero game- has never once signed on with an Agency, and has in fact refused the offers she has received."_

She paused slightly, her fingers running under her eyes and feeling the tired lines etched into her skin... _Shit_.

 _"... it is still unclear just what reasons Animal Spirit has to remain without an Agency, as she has never been quick to comment- which is a stark contrast between her and No. 24 Hawks, no matter how many people wish to compare the two. Hawks has openly stated his reasons for going solo and admonished the overbearing and restrictive nature of Agencies and their Policies as a key reason for deciding against signing with one. And despite having no formal Agency of his own yet, or even an established Office- Hawks has continued to manage his presence in the Media and fund a number of merchandise contracts all on his own, without the need for Lawyers or intermediaries that most Pros rely on. Despite his age and inexperience, Hawks has proven himself and incredibly capable Hero and businessman all in one."_

 _Yeah... Though grant you a lot of that merch is still leftover from his time with Best Jeanist... All the new stuff is in a fledgling state... But even still..._

 _"... He has shown an incredible amount of initiative and taken on the job of Hero, Agent, and Marketer for his own brand and namesake all alone."_ The station kept on, even as she turned the shower off. " _His networth is in the millions and steadily climbing higher... Even with Animal Spirit's impressive track record, soaring Resolve Rate and continued successes time and time again through her deeds as a Hero- her popularity is only kept alive by the skills she possesses, and little else."_

You know? Lately it didn't matter what station she put on, or what paper she read- somehow every single media outlet always included three things without fail;

1\. Literally _anything_ about All Might... No surprise there

2\. Something about Endeavor's great skills as a fighter and a Hero- and an admonishment about how his personality didn't stack up (he was... Ah... Hard to like, as a person)

And 3. _Hawks_

 _'Hawks did this'_  
 _'Hawks is revolutionizing that'_  
 _'Hawks the rebel'_  
 _'Hawks the rising star'_  
 _'Hawks the lone wolf'_  
 _'Hawks is great'_

... And on, and on and on- and oh! Who are we gonna compare him with?

Animal Spirit, that's who!

She was more popular now than she had been in the last year- and it was because of _him_.

... And being popular didn't do her any good. Whatsoever.

Her networth?

Well she was sure she had worth as a Hero and a name, but she had no brand, no contracts, and no running merchandise. She didn't go on shows or make big appearances for posterity's sake... she really was just popular for being good at working as a Hero. Catching Villains, working rescue operations... That was it. What little she did to preserve any semblance of an Image was to be kind to the fans and the people- small little words here and there, just enough to be likeable.

She and Hawks really couldn't be any more unalike... And still whenever he got brought up, so did she.

She tuned out the next few minutes of talking as she stepped out of the shower and across toward the mirror, leaning in as she checked to see if the paint had disappeared from her skin. Her hair stuck to her bare skin in tendrils, water dripping against the counter and floor as she grimaced at the bags under her eyes.

 _"... This just in from Hawks' blog! The No. 24 Hero has put a halt in his tour flying from country to country and will be taking an extended stay in the city!"_ The reporter switched gears,

 _"Does it say why?"_ Another reporter on the same station pitched in,

 _"All he mentions is scouting 'potentials' for his Hero Office."_

 _"He must be looking for buildings then."_

 _"Seems so!"_

Spirit sighed, tapping the screen of her phone and cutting the broadcast off. She straightened up, the chilly air on her wet skin making her shiver slightly, her hands falling on her hips. She searched her body in the mirror, finding small, faint bruises along her ribs and around her torso- from ramming into the railing as she caught that boy, and when Muscleman grabbed hold and threw her... Respectively. And around her forearms were bruises like thin lines left from the Wire Quirk that had tied her up mid-charge.

"... Well... No rolling up my sleeves today..." She sighed to herself, her hands moving up to tie her hair back and out of the way.

She picked up a contact-case from the counter next, leaning in toward the mirror as she carefully placed the thin filmy discs in their proper place in both eyes... Her normal red gaze being lost behind the artificial color of the color contacts, and turning them grey-blue.

She let her eyes drop closed, blinking several times until the familiar irritation faded again. She turned from the mirror and finally grabbed a towel from the ring on the wall, pulling the bathroom door open- and it's light the only light afforded in the otherwise pitch black box she called home.

Well, it wasn't fair to call it a box maybe... Whatever

She started to hum under her breath, hanging the towel around her shoulders and moving to stand in front of her closet. She pulled out a pair of black jeans, a white button-up shirt and a vest with a blue tie, her teeth clamping down on the tie for safekeeping. She pulled open the top drawer of the dresser tucked away in the closet, hooking out a bra and underwear before pushing it closed with her hip. She slid the closet door closed again with a foot, humming still as she tossed the shirt, pants, bra and vest over the top of the rice-paper divider, the tie leaving her teeth and following suit as she slipped the underwear on and then used the towel to dry her hair.

 _Another day, another seven hour shift-_

She pulled each item of clothing on, one after the other and still humming to herself.

 _-off at noon and back home so I can sleep until 5, then back to being..._

She buttoned the vest up, flipping the collar of her shirt up and winding the tie around her neck as she fixed it up.

 _... No. 26 Hero, Animal Spirit... Until I have to give up that again, and it starts all over._

 _On and on... And on_

Again, working two jobs sucks.

Her hip cocked as she stood there, tying the tie and knotting it before tucking the bottom end into her vest, and then buttoning up the cuffs... Tucking the shirt into her jeans.

"... Back in black...I hit the sack...I've been too long I'm glad to be back..." She mumbled, humming the next few lines and then skipping some... And repeating. Her ringtone now officially stuck in her head,

 _Yay_

She hummed all the way back into the bathroom, her fingers running through the damp of her hair and stopping in front of the mirror again. She tapped her phone screen to life just to see the time, and then shifted her attention back to fixing her hair into a coiled bun.

The same drone everyday, hours working and hours sleeping... Always the same- until next week hit.

 _The UA Sports Festival... Haven't ever been to one of those... And to make it even better, I get paid~_

She smirked wearily, rocking back and forth on her feet a little as she continued to do her hair.

 _Is it bad to be so thrilled at the prospect of a little extra money?_

She paused, her eyes trailing over her appearance, musing.

 _Hmm... Nah_

She picked her phone off the counter and turned around, unlocking it and scrolling through what few notifications (all of them news reports) there were since she'd cleared them last. Her feet took her toward the front entrance, pausing long enough to slip on her shoes and grab her wallet and keys.

 _'Endeavor apprehends three Villains on early morning commute'_

 _'What we know about the Villain attack on the USJ'_

 _'Hawks extending stay in Japan, pausing national tour'_

 _'Possible homicide in Hosu'_

 _'Car crash on Okoe Avenue'_

She swiped through and deleted all of them as she reached the door. She went through it, locking it behind her and heading up the badly rusted stairwell sunken into the ground, climbing the steps up and toward ground level. The outside air was chilly in the early morning, the city still half-asleep but not quiet. Her ears rung with the sound of a gun firing off a few shots a ways a way, pausing at the top of the stairs but not at all perturbed by it. This part of the city was never quiet or still, there were always people, lurking and moving and stalking... Unseen things in the background, shadows of the darker parts of humanity that persisted even in an age of Heroes.

She let out a small sigh, immediately aware of unseen eyes on her from somewhere- always watched by someone, homeless or random, or sceevy, it varied.

 _Shinjuku Kabukicho_

... Otherwise known as the Red Light District

"... Home sweet home..."

 **.:+:.**

"... Back in black... Yes I'm... Back in black..."

She sent the glass sliding down the bar, hardly spilling a drop as the man waiting caught it on the other end. She set the liquor bottle down with ease and plucked up two empty shot glasses between her fingers- setting them in the sink and scooting down the bar a little further, humming. Yes, humming- the exact same line over and over now and she just didn't give a damn

"... hmhmm... Back in blaaaack..." She trilled under her breath, lifting a mug up and pulling the lever down for the tap as she filled it. The rumble of voices and music were drowning her out, the same playlist of sensual-subject songs and classic beats playing over the surround sound in the whole of the building- and would later include even more high-strung and less subtle songs once the day set in further... Not that she was ever here for the rush and bustle. The crowds and the drinking and the drunks- the shows and the whistles of horny men as they cooed and goggled at a parade of hardly clothed ' _girls_ '. Drinks sloshed and ordered like no tomorrow, the lights dimmed and what little there was dancing from sequins and body-glitter applied way too fruitfully.

Cat-calls and touchy-feely hands where they shouldn't be- but no one ever stopped them unless they went way, _way_ too far. Money tucked into waistbands and bras, fingers trailing over skin and girls straddling laps, spinning around poles... Others milling about chairs and tables, tray in hand and drinks with it. Lustful, wanting eyes among the customers and sultry smiles as they picked everything and everyone apart down to the bare bone with just a glance. The general hustle and bustle and conversation going on now that would get louder and more rowdy as the day drew further along- spiraling down toward the nightlife and bringing out even more people to goggle and enjoy the entertainment.

Which inevitably meant more noise, more rush, more issues- more mess. Food spilled, drinks sloshed, confetti and other bits of rubbish strewn around haphazardly- the workers struggling to keep some sense of order in the midst of the height of the evening. The Security always got a workout, and the girls too, keeping the customers in line-

 _Not~ My~ Job~!_

No no no- her shift ended hours before the height of business, which meant she avoided the worst of the people who ended up here.

 _Oooh yes~! Good thing too, I will not deal with any of those ass hats, not a chance!_

She barely had the patience for the regular drunks she had to deal with while she was manning the bar. Not only were they drunk- they were also prone to (attempting!) to treating her like one of the dancers.

 _I'm sorry, what about my attire gives you the impression I'm up for grabs?_

 _I can quite literally break your hand, easy_

 _... Ah the perils of working in a 24/hr stripclub/bar... And not having anyone know just who you are, hmm?_

 _Mmm... Or more the perils of being a woman in the lowest end of the Red Light District?_

She stopped the tap and set the mug down in front of the intended recipient- easily picking up the abandoned glass and moving down the line to pick up a few more- whilst also nodding toward the old man at the very end as he raised a hand as signal for another.

"... Yes I'm back in blaaaack..." She hummed, rocking back and forth a bit as she filled a few mugs again. Her eyes flicked from filling the mugs and toward the clock on the counter.

 _10:45_

She let out another humm that was more sigh than anything else, turning back to the bar and passing the drinks out to those waiting for them. She grabbed a sake bottle and moved to the end of the bar, refilling that old man's glass and earning a rough grumble of... Something. She didn't bother to figure it out, she just moved back to the center of the bar and started washing glasses and tidying up a bit.

"... Yes I'm~" she mumbled softly,

 _~currently doing anything to keep myself awake right now, and I still have over an hour left on my shift~!_

She swept a few used lemon slices off the counter and into a bin with one fluid motion.

 _And once I'm home, I get to sleep again until heading out for Patrol~_

She smirked wearily to herself, stacking the now clean glasses back up and aware of the two men that staggered in the entrance- and headed straight for the lounge, and the dancers.

"Kage, I heard you asked for a day off next week."

Spirit's inane humming cut off at the question, her eyes shifting sideways and toward an older woman dressed in a tight corset and shorts too short to be called such- showing off a large area of skin that was par for the course of the establishment. Her heavily-lidded eyes matched with Spirit's lazily, the woman taking a seat on the stool at the end of the bar nearest the entrance that lead behind the counter, a cigarette in hand.

"Same day of the UA Sports Festival... Busy day for a bar... And you still plan to leave us hanging, Kage?" The woman murmured slowly,

'Kage' was the name she had here, every dancer and employee had a name that wasn't their actual name. As per policy for the club, everyone gets paid in cash, no questions get asked- and no one knows who everyone else really is. Which was perfect, since she couldn't go around as Pro Hero _Animal Spirit_ working at a shady stripclub in the Red Light District... Oh the stories that would start at that.

And she needed the job, so even if it wasn't all that reputable- she dealt with it. Because though she was sure there were unsavory things going on behind closed doors- this was the Red Light District, it was inevitable... And she was fairly sure the owners of this club only got involved in booking and prostitution. No murder or Yakuza as far as she knew, and she'd talked with and kept an eye on all the girls enough to know they were willing participants and not caught up in human trafficking.

So anyway- _Kage_ was the name she had here, and the one near everyone in the Red Light District knew her as if she were to pass them by in the street, or in the market... Etc. No one knew her as Animal Spirit, and that was how she planned to keep it. (Thus the color contacts and never, ever using her Quirk around here...)

Anyway, that woman? The name she had here was Tenshi, and she was the oldest of the dancers- and in some ways senior... Sort of their appointed 'boss', though Tenshi didn't have any more authority than the rest of them.

Spirit picked up a shot glass and a liquor bottle, moving toward Tenshi and setting the glass down to fill it up in front of her. "You planning to go and watch?" Tenshi murmured, moving the glass closer once it was filled.

"You really think I have the money to pay for what few tickets they reserve for the general public and not for Pros or Recruiters?" Spirit replied easily, Tenshi let out a breath and Spirit set the bottle down. "And I doubt I'm leaving anyone hanging, I'm sure Jeriko will be happy to fill my shift that day and earn some overtime." Tenshi shrugged slightly, picking up the shot and downing it in one go with complete ease.

"You're a much better bartender than Jeriko." Tenshi murmured offhandedly, Spirit smiled wearily. Tenshi stood up from the stool again and stuck her cigarette between her teeth, turning to leave but pausing as she cast a sideways glance at her. "You look like shit, Kage." Tenshi murmured dryly, Spirit stiffened. "Hell, maybe you do really need a day off." The older woman muttered, waving a hand behind her nonchalantly, Spirit remained in her spot as she watched the woman move away and back toward the lounge and other few dancers on shift at the moment.

Spirit's shoulders sank a little, her eyes dropping closed and earning a faint bit of irritation in them from the contacts- which happened everytime she blinked, actually.

 _... I am getting tired of people pointing it out..._

"Oi, gimme another one." A man behind her ordered lowly, breaking her from her thoughts and the annoyance that flared in her core.

 _... I really need sleep... maybe I'll just skip out on Patrol today?_

 _"Have you heard anything about the Hero Killer Stain?"_

 _"Reports of his activity have been steadily growing closer to this part of Japan, and it's likely he'll attempt to enact his so-called 'justice' on one, or maybe even several of the Pros that patrol this area."_

 _... I probably shouldn't skimp out on Patrol... just in case... not that I'm looking to get murdered... but..._

"You hear me?" The man asked, almost irritable and Spirit nodded.

"... yessir."

 **.:+:.**

She left bar-tending behind at 12pm sharp

She went back home and shrugged her shoes off in the entrance, and headed straight for bed and let her body fall on top of it like a sack of potatoes. She didn't even bother to take her work clothes off, five seconds after hitting the bed- she was out. Floating in an endless, empty black dream of complete nothing... and then jolted awake again and into a very dim apartment by the sound a guitar strumming, and the by now all too familiar lyrics of 'Back in Black' she had been singing on a loop for six hours straight.

 _... I need to change my alarm... and ringtone... before I hate this song... forever..._

She dragged herself from the intoxicating softness of her bed, her body aching and protesting against it- but she still got up.

 _... woooooow... I feel even more tired now... what the fuck...?_

Getting changed into her Hero Attire was a daze.

She took the color contacts out that she'd neglected to before falling asleep, leaving her eyes their natural crimson red and setting to work on painting her usual makeup under her eyes on her her lips and chin. She worked her hair from the bun it had been in and braided it back into a ponytail instead, slipping on her sleeves and winding the straps around her thighs. She put her phone in the pocket of her suit and headed toward the one single window in the whole of the apartment. High up and touching the roof, little light coming through and not a surprise- it was ground level with the alley outside... you know, since her apartment was underground... and in fact the basement of the building.

Payable rent though, given her minimal income- and she didn't need much.

She pulled her boots on that had been abandoned there at midnight, before reaching up and opening it outward, and hooking her hand on the edge. Her body melted into a haze as she Shifted into a cat and hoisted herself over the ledge, and ducked under the glass into the alley. She didn't bother Shifting back to close the widow, she hooked her paws on the glass and shut it with ease. And she stayed a cat as she walked down the alley and toward the street, head hanging slightly and tail drooped a bit- yawning.

Her few (regular) hours of sleep between noonish to her alarm at 5pm were usually enough.. usually restful and had her feeling fine... but not today apparently.

 _Oi... taking those overtime hours just messed up my sleep schedule... I hate myself._

She kept walking without really paying attention, aware of those same unseen eyes always present in Shinjuku Kabukicho... Only now they were less prying, seeing as how she appeared as a cat and not a person. She just kept on, drawing further toward the edge of the District and eventually leaving it behind for another... The neighboring city of Hieku and home to Kiyashi Ward- that District in which she was most active through her exploits as a Hero.

In general terms all Heroes had assigned cities or separate Districts they operated out of normally. They did most of their work there, knew the layout, whatnot. They were mostly expected to stay in their 'Area', but it wasn't unallowed to go other places even then. But these assignments were mostly coordinated through Hero Agencies. And since she wasn't a member of one, she didn't technically have an Area of her own... She just sort of chose one to work out of usually, and Hieku was it.

Because you'd be damn sure she wouldn't work out of Kabukicho. Not only was it a shit place to work as a Hero- she _lived_ there, and she really didn't need to have people work out that 'Kage' and Animal Spirit were the same person.

But even as she entered Hieku and Kiyashi Ward- she still kept walking, alert and on the lookout, but not pausing... She just moved through the bustling, business-oriented and commercial driven Kiyashi Ward and out of Hieku altogether, drawing closer and closer to Hosu instead.

 _The daily grind of Patrol..._

 _... Mm... I have to take some time in the next few days to visit Death Arms' Agency..._

 _... Maybe we'll catch up some too... I haven't seen him in awhile..._

Remember what she said about not making a habit of making friends with other Pro Heroes? Well that was mostly true, but there was the one exception of course- there was always some exception to everything, and appropriately so in this case. Of the few people she ever actually tolerated in her school days- he was one of them... And the only person from high school who'd graduated the Hero Course and done well. Well, besides her- but what she beat Death Arms in Rank, he beat her in actual income.

But despite that, she and Death Arms were the top two out of their old school.

She wove around people and their legs, drawing closer toward the center of Hosu and the bustle- the buildings growing steadily taller on either side. She was aware of passing other Pros by on the sidewalk, familiar faces in Hosu where she wasn't... Well-liked Heroes, but by no means popular.

 _Popularity doesn't define capability though_

Her walking came to a slow halt as she came upon a square packed with people and cars and shops- the works. People avoided her and went around as she stopped on the edge of the sidewalk, her crimson gaze traveling over numerous heads she couldn't hope to count.

 _Hosu is always so busy_

Her head tilted up, looking over her shoulder and toward the top of the multistory building behind her- overlooking the square.

 _... Hmm... That's a good vantage point of the area... I could just sit up there and watch. I could probably see several streets over from there too._

 _Take a break, you know... Just sit down and watch_

 _... Damn that sounds glorious._

Her feet were killing her, heavy and hard to lift even if she forced herself to keep walking. She turned toward the building and walked along it up the sidewalk a bit, intent on finding an alley she could slip into- and passing a food stand on the way. She could hear something sizzling from it, the air heavy with the scent of spices and salt and meat... Her stomach rumbled and she bit back at it.

 _... Come to think of it, I totally forgot to eat today, huh?_

Her walking slowed unconsciously as she passed it by, her eyes lingering- before she realized what she was doing and shook her head at herself.

 _You're working_

She trotted away and didn't let herself look back.

 _I really do hate myself sometimes... Gahhhh_

 _... I'll... I'll just stop and get something on my way home to change._

 _Yeah, totally. I'll have time... If not... I'll just eat something at the club_

She veered around the corner and into a side street- already Shifting again into something else that would get her to the top of that building in no time. Alone and able to see and hear everything- perfect vantage point.

.. _.. Better than just walking senselessly... I'll let the rest of the Pros in the area do that today. If there's trouble, I'll notice- until then, this will be good._

 _People-watching... Who knows, maybe I'll see something interesting_

 _... Mm... But not as interesting as last night, okay? I don't wanna get in an all out fight again... But if it has to be that way, so be it._ _Who am I to complain?_

 _This... Is my job._ _I chose this._

 _... Yeah, how_ _ **have**_ _I lived this long?_

She lift off into the air, wind catching under her wings as she Shifted into an eagle and started to climb.

 _One of the world's greatest mysteries, I'm sure..._

 **.:+:.**

 _... Mystery I'm sure I'm not the only one asking..._

 _"... And I'm back with a madness...I'm a champion of the people who don't believe in champions..."_

 _Hmm?_

 _"... I got nothing but dreams inside, I got nothing but dreams... I'm just young enough to still believe, still believe~"_

 _Huh... I know that song..._

 _"... But young enough not to know what to believe in... Young enough not to know what to believe in, yeah~~~"_

 _It's gotten popular recently... Since they translated from English..._

 _"...If I can live through this,_  
 _If I can live through this,_  
 _If I can live through thiiiis,_  
 _I can do anything~!"_

 _... Where the hell...? It's... Super quiet I can barely hear it..._

She felt something on top of her head, rubbing behind her ears gently, affectionately... _What...?_

She felt groggy as hell, still hearing the music but it was so soft and quiet... Little but a low rumble from far off and she yawned. She lift her head, whatever warm weight on top of it lifting with her as she blinked her eyes open to harsh orange light, grumbling.

 _... Where is that coming from... And what's touching me...?_

 _Must be my pillow... But why is my room so bright? It's never this... Bright..._

She yawned again, her eyes shutting against it before breaking off with a sigh, blinking several times to rid herself of the haziness of sleep she didn't remember falling into.

 _But damn I needed that... Odd though, I don't remember getting back from...?_

The blurriness faded from her eyes and time stopped altogether as her red eyes met dark ones, straight in front of her.

 _W..wha...?_

"Hehe, have a nice nap?" A voice asked brightly, and all too amused.

 _Jesus... Fuck..!_

 _Did I seriously...?!_

Her eyes shift sideways to see open air and the tops of buildings taller or just as tall as the one she was laying on the edge of, the sky turning a blinding orange shade quickly getting red then violet as the sun sank away. She could hear the sound of people and cars and commerce below, well above what hushed song was playing in the background now... _'Champion, Champion~'_ humming from his headphones though he didn't seem bothered.

And speaking of _him-_

Those bright red wings were pulled to his back as he sat cross-legged on the wall in front of her, one elbow on his knee and cheek in his hand- while his other was extended forward and rubbing the top of her head like... Like she was some soft of _pet_!

"Hmm, sleeping on the job, Spirit?" Hawks hummed playfully, his hand still in her personal space and making no move to leave it.

 _I fell asleep on Patrol?!_

 _SHIIIT_

She jumped onto her paws, bristling and ears pressed flat against her head as she batted his hand away from her head with unsheathed claws.

"Who the fuck do you think you're petting?!" She snapped, her claws catching on his jacket sleeve only slightly- he pulled his hand back and toward him with complete ease, not at all bothered by the puffed up and arch-backed cat in front of him. "I'm not some stray you can do what you please with, Feather-Fuck!"

"Such a bad mouth for such a cute kitty~" Hawks hummed playfully, his elbows in his lap and both cheeks between his hands, smiling. She bristled further, her tail lashing behind her in annoyance and teeth bared.

"Do _not_ call me Kitty!" She snapped, "Or cute! Who do you think you're talking to?!" He chuckled,

"Animal Spirit of course." Was the easy little reply, she growled.

"Why are you here?!" She demanded hotly,

"I was out on my rounds and decided to do a quick flyover of Hosu." Hawks replied easily, "I was minding my own business, just keeping an eye out- and then I saw this cute little black cat curled up asleep on the edge of this Building~ All the way up on the roof of a fifty-story structure and I thought that was odd for a cat. Maybe it got stuck? Someone trapped it up here? Maybe it's lonely~?" He smirked, clearly teasing as Spirit's ears pressed back against her head harder. "Well anyway, I figured it would be bad of me not to make sure it was okay- and then I recognized that cute kitty as the No. 26 Hero~! Lucky me, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon, Spirit~"

 _Cheeky, childish, nosy little-_

"Anyhoo~! You looked real comfy, so I wasn't gonna wake you up." Hawks went on, straightening up a bit and crossing his arms about his chest.

"... You've been sitting here watching me sleep?" Spirit deadpanned,

"I wouldn't say _watching_ you- just keeping an eye out, making sure nothing came along to disrupt your little nap." He hummed, "You were out pretty good ya know, totally missed a whole pileup down there in the square. Six cars, no casualties- few bumps and bruises, a broken lamppost. I popped off down there to lend a hand and when I can back up you were still fast asleep." He told her brightly, her red eyes went wide in shock.

"Seriously...?!" She breathed, him still smiling so, so casually and calm as can be.

 _How in the hell-?!_

"Nah, not really." He hummed, Spirit stiffened. "Buuuut, the point stands- you've really been out of it for awhile now." Spirit bared her teeth at him, huffing as she lashed her tail once.

 _"Git."_ Spirit hissed, he quirked a feathery brown at the insult, but still not bothered.

"Hmm, anyway Spirit~ It's been about 19, 20ish hours since I last saw you- I'd have thought you'd caught a few winks already, but you're out here fast asleep~! What've you been up to if not sleeping, huh~?" Hawks asked, Spirit growled and looked away from him.

"Correction, _nosy_ git." She muttered hotly, missing the all too amused smile he had upon catching the comment. Spirit sat down, her body and figure wavering, distorting and fracturing at the edges as Hawks lost sight of her in a haze of black-red, and that cat that he'd been talking to turned into woman. Spirit crossed her knees over each other, her feet hanging off the edge of the wall and her arms crossing about her chest as she let out an aggravated growl. "... I slept." she muttered lowly, pointedly not facing him anymore or glancing his way.

"Hmm, really~?" He hummed,

"Yes _really_."

"Then what's with sleeping out here like a log~?" He hummed, his head tilting a bit to get a better look at her face as his eyes flashed. "You sick or somethin', Spirit?" He asked, his tone dropping a small fraction of that carefree casualty it seemed to have at all times. Her head tilted, imperceptibly so in his direction at the subtle change in his voice, her eyes shifting toward him in a sideways glance.

 _... Weird..._

"I'm not sick." She mumbled lowly, almost stubbornly so.

 _... I did nod off in the middle of Patrol though... Jesus hell..._

"You sure about that? You do kinda look a bit pale." he added softly, she grimaced.

A rush of wind swept up from below them, bringing with it muffled noise and scent of people and places and food...

Spirit stiffened, sweatdropping when her stomach growled- loudly.

Hawks blinked, a little taken aback at the sound for a few fleeting seconds- before he grinned, _entirely_ amused. His hand came up to cover his mouth and stifle the laugh that rose in his throat, Spirit grimaced her head tilting down and out of his view to keep him from noticing how flushed her face got.

 _Fuck. Me._

"Heh... Eh, you hungry, Spirit?" Hawks asked, his voice shaking as he swallowed back the chuckling- fruitlessly so. She shut her eyes against it, she could just imagine what entertained smirk he had on his face.

 _I'm gonna jump off the building-_

"Hehe... he... uhm... ah, when's the last time you ate~?" Hawks asked, still barely holding back his laughter and Spirit grumbled more.

"Fuck off." She shot back lowly,

"Ah, don't be hostile, it was a simple question~!" Hawks laughed,

"You're nosy as all fuck, Bird-Boy." Spirit muttered lowly, "-And you're acting like you and I are all chummy. We're not friends, we are hardly even acquaintances, I only met you last night."

"Ah, but what's wrong with being friendly~? And nosy isn't the aim, it's totally justified for me to ask you when you last ate when your stomach is making whale noises~~!" Hawks hummed brightly, her face heated up a bit at that, crimson eyes glaring at the street far far below. "Oh~! Speaking of whales, is that one of those animals in your repertoire?"

 _Honestly what is with this guy? He's so cheery and familiar and childish- it's like everything is a joke to him... and it's not making a difference no matter how much I snap at him, or get pissed- he just brushes it off like nothing... oi_

 _Why did he end up flying over this building of all buildings? Right when I was on it?_

Her eyes trailed up toward the horizon and the setting sun,

 _... I fell asleep for a few hours at least... damn it..._

 _... hmm... maybe being all pissy and bitchy just doesn't help anything... and he's too much a child to really be anything more than just plain, simple 'curious' I guess_

"... yes." She grumbled lowly, Hawks perked up at the low answer. "... and... yesterday, probably... for the food thing..." She paused, her arms crossing over her chest a bit more tightly as her eyes dropped closed, pensive as she quickly recanted her steps in her head trying to come up with the actual when... and couldn't. "... I think... maybe... I honestly don't remember..." She admitted quietly, Hawks' eyes flashed, his expression crossed over by clear surprise and even wonder. He paused, his eyes scanning her up and down and the very closed off posture she had- and the way she was avoiding looking at him, his expression falling flat for a few seconds, before smiling a bit.

"Well, have no fear, your friendly neighborhood Hawks is to the rescue~!" He told her, his hand digging in his pocket and wings fluffing up and he beat them once- Spirit's eyes trailing toward him in interest and confusion. He pulled his phone from his pocket and started tapping his thumb across it, typing something- but her eyes got diverted from that toward the single vermilion feather that suddenly detached itself from his wing and floated forward to rest in air at his shoulder. The top of it tilted forward, almost like it was leaning in to watch what he was typing on his phone.

 _... okay..._

"I know this great place, takes text orders- it's over a few blocks, I stop there a few times a week, the owner always packs the boxes extra full for me~!" Hawks hummed happily, "You like yakitori, Spirit~? This guy makes the best yakitori on this side of Hosu, and he's not ridiculously expensive either- not that price really bothers me, good food is good food~!"

Spirit didn't answer and Hawks wasn't seemingly looking for one either, he just kept typing and talking away like it was normal for him to drone on in some sort of... one-sided conversation. And she was honestly more interested in the fact that that feather that had broken away from his wings suddenly zoomed off on it's own and was quickly lost from sight.

 _Where in the hell...?_

"I'll have him fill out two orders, and throw in a few sodas~! You like melon flavor yeah~?" Hawks hummed, his thumb still tapping away on the phone screen. "So, you can turn into an eagle, a cat, a rhino, a bear and a whale? So you're covered on small land animals and big ones, and then sky and water- so you could work in any environment or type of rescue operation with little problem, huh~? And even in places where it does little good to be full on Shifted into one animal or another, you can choose to just Shift parts of your body instead or separate bits you don't have yourself~ So does that mean if you needed to be able to hold your breath under water, but it would suck to weigh like ten tons as an actual whale- you could Shift enough to earn that quality?" His topic of conversation on food suddenly shifted toward her Quirk and her searching gaze for the feather turned to him again. And he was still looking at his phone, talking, multitasking- musing.

"And are the perks and attributes of all those animals of the same caliber as an actual animal would have, or are they more enhanced for you? Like a bear can lift... mmm... 500-600 pounds, so can you lift that much when you Shift into a bear- or can you lift more than that, cause of how your Quirk works?" Hawks asked next, "And that whole partway Shifting thing, like with the wings and the sense of smell- can you manifest different features from several different animals at the same time, or is it a one at a time sort of thing? And from what you Shifted into last night, and the news-reports, you don't ever really Shift into a bunch of different animals in quick succession of each other, huh? Is that intentional or coincidence? Like you have some sort of limit on the number of Shifts you can do in a certain time period?"

Spirit's eyes narrowed slightly at him, a bead of sweat falling down her cheek.

"Ah, and you said you slept huh~? Clearly it wasn't very long, given your catnap just a bit ago- and I haven't seen anything about you working today in the news, so you weren't out on Patrol or anything. So what else do you do with your spare-time, between sleeping and not eating and Hero work?" Hawks asked lightly, his eyes finally darting up from his phone and toward her, their gazes matching as she sat there, expression neutral and quiet. There were a few seconds of simply looking at one another, and she blinked.

"Oh I'm sorry, is it my turn to talk now?" She murmured lowly, he smirked.

"Hmm, I told ya I'd come up with more to ask." He replied, she let out a quiet breath.

"... look, you clearly aren't bothered by me snapping your head off, or telling you to fuck off, Hawks. So I'm sure you're gonna keep on trying to be 'friendly' no matter what I say, because you are a nosy, stubborn, cheeky git." Spirit muttered, her tone exasperated. "And I might, _eventually_ , be compelled to be a little less frigid and a bit more friendly in return- but you are jumping the gun, Bird-Brain. Just because you wanna act like we're on familiar enough terms to be talking about our personal lives and everything else- does not mean we are. This is the _second_ time we have met, I am not going to tell you every single detail about my Quirk, and I am not going to relay my personal life to you either." He tilted his head, the brightness of his carefree demeanor dimming a bit, but the smile stayed. "You and I? We are not on the level of being friends, got it?" She mumbled, gesturing between herself and him slightly. "It's gonna take more than handling a few cops for me to get to that level. A lot more, if it ever even gets that far between us. I don't have a habit of making friends."

"Oh, so there's a chance we'll get to that level then?" Hawks asked with ease, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek.

"Do you just pick out the parts of a conversation you like?" She mumbled,

"So if covering for you with the cops and sweeping up to catch you midair isn't enough, is keeping you company and ordering you food gonna get me enough points~?" Hawks asked, Spirit grimaced at him.

"Catching me in air earned you no 'points'." She corrected lowly, "... and I'm not letting you pay for food-"

"Too late, already did." He cut her off with ease,

"-then I'll pay you back." She muttered lowly, he hummed.

"How about you buy food another day? That'll work for me~!" He told her, "Mochi, a drink, more yakitori~! I'm flexible~"

"... you're a child..." Spirit mumbled, "Are you even old enough to drink, Bird-Boy?"

"Of course~! How old do you think I am?" He chuckled, she sighed.

"How old I think you are, and how old you act, are two different things." She muttered, "... and fine, I'll pay for food... though you're not very subtle, you know. Why are you so insistent on getting to know me?"

"You're an interesting person, why wouldn't I wanna get to know you?"

 _That's a very roundabout answer-_

"Besides, you and I have a lot in common~! And I'd really like to see what else we've got between us, you seem like a fun person to hang around, talk to, work with~!"

"We are not working together, I don't work with other people unless I absolutely have to." Spirit said plainly,

"Ah, don't say that~! I think I can change your mind~!" He chuckled,

"Doubtful." She deadpanned, and still his smile never faded.

"Give me a chance, Spirit~! I'm lots of fun to be around, promise~!"

"The fact that _you_ think that, makes me think it's not true." She quipped, "And you have already have a bad reputation for working with other people, everyone you've ever worked with has admitted they did not like working with you. At all." She shifted slightly facing him a bit more and red eyes flashing. "You always leave them behind and run off to do your own thing, you jump ahead of everyone and blow through enemies or a crisis at breakneck speed and you don't look back. You're abrasive and you are easily distracted, and you're not patient in any sense of the word-"

"Ah come on that's not fair, all those guys just couldn't keep up with me~! I bet you could though, easy~" He corrected, all too lax with the criticism, Spirit shook her head slightly.

"You shouldn't judge the worth of other people on whether or not they can 'keep up with you'." She told him lowly, he blinked. "And you really shouldn't rush ahead into everything, eventually it's going to bite you in the ass." She warned softly, his eyes flashed, the faintest hint of surprise dawning on his carefree expression at her words.

"Hmm." He mused, glancing back to his phone that he'd been holding aloft in his hand during the entire conversation. His smile widened a bit, his eyes glinting as he nodded, just once. "Noted. So will you give me a chance at being Partners in crime if I work on all of that, Spirit~?"

She sighed, her head tilting back and exasperated as all hell- her hands uncrossed and met the wall behind her to prop herself up a bit.

 _Hopeless... seriously hopeless_

"... bloody hell... you're insufferable..." She muttered to the air, Hawks' head tilted in intrigue. Her head tilted back down looking to him again and red eyes glinting. "... no, no chance for you... not right now. You remember what I said about levels? You need to reach a level of it being acceptable to be even casual-professional between the two of us before I would even consider working with you. And you, Bird-Boy, are not there yet."

"Even with food?" He smiled, she frowned.

 _He is a fucking child_

 _OI_

"Yes, even with food. We are not even passed 'uneasy acquaintances'." She replied lowly, he shrugged, glancing down at his phone again.

"Fair enough I guess~" He said easily, "Sooooo, ya wanna exchange numbers~?" He asked brightly. Spirit stiffened, her eyes widening at the question. She growled, her hands lifting as she crossed her arms over each other in an 'x' formation.

"What part of the whole level of familiarity thing did you not get?!" She snapped,

"Hmm, okay, maybe not numbers just yet~ How about Line?" He mused, his eyes casting up toward Spirit who just gave him a flat stare. "I'll take that look as a no... hmmm... How about Instagram? Do you have one~? I know there's a lot of fake accounts under your name from your fanbase, but I haven't been able to track down an official one~!" He earned another flat stare and his jaw dropped slightly, " _No_... you don't have one..?!" He breathed, Spirit let out a breath.

"Why would I?" She grumbled,

"Because you're the No. 26! You're a celebrity Spirit, you gotta keep up with the world and all your fans~! You have an _Image_ Spirit, you're a top Hero! Don't you think all your fans wanna see what you're up to, in to, or just wanna celebrate you~?!" Hawks said quickly, almost hysterical now. "Please tell me you have a Twitter at least~? I couldn't find that one either-"

"Nope." Spirit deadpanned, he seemed to pale, his jaw dropping further and rigid.

"HOW?! How can you not have an Instagram, or a Twitter...?! How are you the No. 26 Hero and have no Social Media outlet at all?!" Hawks squawked, his wings fluffing up behind him in animation. "I thought I just couldn't find your official accounts, but they just don't exist~?! Spirit~!? Why not~?!" He sounded almost whiny at the end there, and she sweatdropped.

"It's not my thing." She replied lowly, his wings stuck straight up.

"What do you mean it's not your thing~?! All Heroes have some sort of Social Media for the world to check out! Even the ones who don't hit the top 100! You're the top 30!" Hawks snapped, "This is you getting back at me for the snoozing through a pileup thing, right~?!" She grimaced, a vein ticking on her forehead.

"I don't do social media! I don't care about being popular on the internet, or posting about what I'm eating, or other random thoughts for all the world to see- I don't do photoshoots, I don't do interviews or tv shows, I don't sign autographs- I'm not _you!"_ Spirit snapped hotly,

"But that's all part of being a Pro!" He retorted, "People look to you as an icon! You're a fan-favorite! I can't even count the number of people out there who put you in their top-ten Hero list! Plus you're one of the few Heroes in Japan who has a flawless Capture rate! Every Villain you have faced you have caught, the _first time!_ You've never had to chase someone down again cause they got away! Even _I_ can't attest to that~! And that's a stat not even All Might has anymore after that Sludge Villain thing~! People are super in to you, Spirit~! You gotta keep up with the digital times, let the world be in to you- you gotta stick with it~! Put yourself out there~! Take a step into the spotlight~!"

Spirit blinked, brow quirking as he suddenly fell into a... rant, his hands and his wings moving in motion and animation as he kept talking- no longer looking at his phone anymore.

"You've got a stellar track record, you're strong as hell, you're quick and you're resourceful and you get the Job _done!_ And your Quirk looks cool to boot~!" Hawks went on, "And you! Despite being grumpy as hell in person, you do make little appearances in the public- small, sly, coy little things and that just adds to the whole mysterious allure you got going on! That's an angle you can use! And people love that! Especially since despite being all secrets and shadows and things- you're _always_ friendly with the general public! You've got the whole 'dark and mysterious but with a heart of gold' bit going~!" he raised his hands up and swept them across a line in air like he was gesturing toward some headline.

"But even that isn't gonna keep everyone happy for very long~! You got to give them something, throw them a little tidbit- give a comment to a newstation, pause just long enough for a good paparazzi photo~! Doesn't matter what, just give the world a tiny little glimpse more into their Hero Animal Spirit~! Keep their attention, keep them interested and vying for you~!" Hawks hummed, his rant breaking off for a second as his attention shifted toward that single vermilion feather that had flown off a few minutes before. Spirit glanced toward it, her eyes finding the handles of plastic bag threaded through by the tip of the feather and carrying it. He smirked, extending a finger as the feather dropped the bags in it- and he set to work pulling out the boxes filled with food and the drinks tucked away inside. He handed her a box and a soda without a word, practically dropping them in her hands and pleased as pleased can be when he saw the way her eyes lit up as the smell of food hit her.

 _Oh lord... this smells fantastic..._

He took a minute to revel in the way she paused with the food in her hands, her eyes fixed on that and not him as he pulled a box for himself from the bag and set his own drink on the wall in front of him. That single feather that flown away and returned with the food, replaced itself among the many others in his wings, Hawks smirked a bit more as Spirit's hands fell lightly on top of the box, hesitating almost. "Eat up~!" Hawks chirped lightly, she bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes falling closed and grumbling- but she opened it up and slowly picked up a kebab of the takiyori, biting into it. He smirked at the breath she let out, before waving a hand in front of him a bit.

"Anyhoo, back to what I was saying~! You're so popular now without even trying, imagine what you could do with just a little fanfare~! You don't even need to open up and string some story or some detail about yourself, you're a badass, capable Hero who is easily one of the more attractive female Pros in Japan!" He went on brightly, biting off a piece of his food and chewing nonchalantly even as Spirit stopped chewing in an instant. Spirit stiffened, feeling her face flush suddenly at the words and her heart skipping a beat at it.

 _I-I'm sorry what..?!_

"You've already got your hooks in a large majority of the public just for your looks! You can afford to flaunt it a bit more, that'd easily bump you up a few Rankings~!" Hawks hummed brightly, "For someone with such a bad mouth you really are pretty modest with your Hero Attire you know~! You could easily show off some more and get away with it, you'd look great no matter what you wear~! And your fans would goggle for a bit of variety right now, it'd be new and fresh and it would really catch eyes~!" Her eyes snapped up from her food and toward him, only his were closed as he munched on his food thoughtfully- a lull coming again in his long-winded mutterings and she just stared.

 _Okay, this went somewhere I am not comfortable with-_

"I mean don't get me wrong, your Hero Outfit works really well for you~! And I like it too, it's slimming and shows off enough of the right things, but you can always-" He went on in his carefree manner and Spirit swallowed, her hand snapping forward to snatch a stick of takiyori from his plate, to which she promptly stuffed into his mouth and cut him off. Hawks jumped a little at the action, his words breaking off in a startled breath of air that sounded more like sputtering- his eyes moving toward her as Spirit pulled her hand back and shot him a very flustered glare.

She couldn't see her own face, but judging by how hot she felt right then- she knew she was blushing, and she cursed herself, and him.

"We are _not_ having this conversation!" She told him lowly, he just blinked once. "I'm not about to take publicity advice from you, nor outfit adaptations! Now just... just shut up and eat your food Bird-Brain!" She huffed and looked away from him indignantly, intently focused on her food and not on him- not for anything. Not even as he sat there looking at her in silence and that kebab still hanging in his mouth, and Spirit ate her food in silence, still not looking up at him again- but Hawks saw the red dusted over her cheeks and in her skin, and he paused. There were a few seconds he sat there, just watching- before his lips curled in an amused smirk and he reached up to grab the stick in his mouth, starting to chew.

"As you wish, Spirit~!" He hummed around the mouthful, she shut her eyes against the cheeriness and mirth in his voice.

 _Damn you, Feather-fuck_

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4- Noted

**Chapter 4**

 **Noted**

 **.:+:.**

 _Every time_

 _Every single fucking time_

 **.:+:.**

 _Why me?_

 _Why does it have to be me?_

 _Why do I have to be the one to be pestered and bothered and followed by this man-child?_

 _Seriously, why?!_

He wouldn't leave her alone damn it! Everywhere she went, every night- she was out on Patrol, minding her own damn business, doing her job- rescuing a guy here, butting heads with a wannabe Villain there- stopping a thief, the works. She handled it, all on her own, just fine- it was normal and then... _Him_.

He showed up. Every. Single. Night.

 _"Hey there Spirit~!"_

 _"Oooh, you caught him real quick huh~?"_

 _"Slow night ~?"_

 _"Yo~!"_

 _"What's up~?"_

Always with a carefree smile and wave of his hand, popping into the picture and totally unneeded in every situation- he was clearly just there to get her attention. And she didn't want him to be in her attention- she wanted him to just... Back off a little!

 _He's so freaking annoying, his 'wanting to get to know me' has officially turned into 'let's bother Spirit every night'_

She even stopped patrolling Hosu and went back to her regular rounds in Hieku- just to throw him off a bit.

And he still showed up there too

He said he wanted to chat, and go for a little walk, hang out for a bit- and she humored him the first two nights, reminding herself not to be so bitchy- but his inane questions were persistent and she hadn't the patience. Now she'd just adopted the behavior of humoring him for five minutes- before managing to slip away and ditch him. A bit harsh maybe, but he was incessant, and he clearly had no grasp of how annoyed she was with him and his carefree, childish behavior. And he clearly didn't seem to get the hint when she ditched him, numerous times now- he always just came back again.

 _Oblivious. He's fucking oblivious._

She hoped today she'd avoid him, but she had a sinking feeling that wouldn't happen- even as she sidetracked a bit to head up to Death Arms' Agency and pick up the paperwork and badge for the security detail at UA... Once she went back and headed to Patrol, she just knew- he'd find some way to find her.

 _I'm going to scratch that smile off his face if this keeps up_

Since that first night she'd met Hawks, every night since then for five days she'd seen him again. She avoided letting herself be seen with him in front of other people, or crowds, or media persons- the last thing she needed was rumors and stories running rampant about a sudden spike in Animal Spirit and Hawks being together... The things they could spin and come up with.

 _I don't need nor want that attention- at all_

... Of course it was hard avoiding said attention when the whole of Japan had their eyes and their interests set firmly on the Winged Hero.

She sighed, weaving through people on the sidewalk in her (admittedly favored) form of a cat.

 _Why is he so interested in me? Its crazy... And maybe a bit creepy_

This section of Japan was less familiar to her, it was more than a few Wards away from her usual area of activity- but she knew it well enough to know where she was going. After all, she only ever went to one place in particular when she came out this far. She moved further and further up the street and toward a tall, towering building with a large entryway and glass front- well built and clearly had no small amount of money poured into it... Across the face there were banners featuring a number of Pro Heroes- all of them of course signed on with the Agency who owned the Building.

She turned and trotted up the steps leading into the entrance and all the way up to the door itself before she Shifted back into her normal body. Her hand pushed lightly against the door as she stepped inside and crossed the foyer, making no pause nor detour as she walked straight passed the lobby and toward the Security Gate on the opposite end of the floor. She earned a few looks from the people in the lobby but no one really batted an eye- and why would they?

She wasn't sporting her Hero Uniform at the moment and they couldn't see her face- not with the hood of the maroon jacket she had on pulled up and over her head. She'd picked a more casual outfit for the excursion, a tank top, and skinny jeans tucked into knee-high boots that buckled all the way along their length- a maroon jacket with elbow-length sleeves and a hood, and around her wrists and array of leather bracelets and the like. To anyone she seemed a regular young woman, with no clear view of her face- which would likely give away who she was immediately. Even in a more casual outfit she was still Animal Spirit, and for it she'd made sure to do her hair as she would if she were out on Patrol, as well as make sure to paint the dark red makeup par for her Hero Uniform under her eyes and on her lips. That way if she were to talk to someone directly, they'd realize who she was- but she didn't stick out of the crowd unless she wanted to.

After all, she already shied away from making a scene when she was working- and she wasn't looking to attract a crowd of fans and whatnot while she was out and about... And she surely would, if they recognized her.

 _Perks of being the No. 26 I guess..._

She drew up at the Gate, pulling her wallet, keys and phone from her pockets and sliding a laminated card out- the Security Guard stepped forward as she got close and smiled slightly.

"Good afternoon." He murmured, Spirit smiled back politely and set her items down in a bin for screening and handed him the card- specifically, an Authorized Visitor's Pass with her identity and picture on it, one that granted her access to the rest of Building where most people didn't passed the first floor, and one she'd earned from Death Arms awhile back. The Guard took the ID with ease and scanned it, while also sliding the bin with her things in it through the scanner and to the other side of the gate. "Been awhile since you've stopped by. Is this a social call or just mail pickup?" he asked lightly, Spirit shrugged.

"Kinda both." She replied, he nodded, stepping to the side a bit and waving her forward to step through the Security Scanner. She passed through the faint blue bio-electric field with no sirens or alarms (not that she expected any mind you), and the Security Guard handed her ID back to her over the wall.

"You're all clear of course. Have a good day, Animal Spirit." He told her lightly, she took the card back and picked up her belongings- nodding to him.

"Thank you, you too." She called back as she headed away and towards the elevators. She pressed the button to call it down while also pulling her messages up on her phone- her thumb typing away a small message and hitting send at near the exact instant the elevator dinged and the doors started to open. She stepped in the elevator and turned, tapping the third floor button and backing up as the doors closed- her hands lift to pull her hood down and her hands fell in her jacket pockets. The small monitor in the elevator had a muted slideshow of Heroes in the Agency and Ads going across and a small corner saved for a clock;

 _5:26 pm_

The elevator moved up at rapid pace and stopped at the 3rd floor, the door sliding open as she stepped out and veered left down a short hallway and toward a room with a desk and offices, and a wall of filing cabinets. The clerk at the front counter looked up as she walked in, his eyes widening in surprise and awe- before he nodded to her and stood up.

"Hello Animal Spirit." He said lightly, "Are you here to pick up mail?"

"Yep. Should be some documents and an ID from the Central Events Coordination Center." Spirit replied easily, the clerk nodded.

"Yes, I do remember seeing that- give me a minute I'll grab those for you." He said brightly, turning around and heading off into a back room and leaving Spirit leaning against the counter. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, a message popping up on the screen.

 _New Message From: Death Arms_  
 _I'm going through some things with the Marketers on the 21st floor. I'll be out soon_

She pulled the message down to open up the keyboard and simply typed out;

 _Got it_

The clerk came back with a manila envelope in hand, which he easily passed across the counter to her. She smiled at him and gave him a small nod,

"Thank you." Spirit hummed,

"My pleasure."

A short trip back to the elevator and the push of the 21st button had her climbing higher in the Building, the manila folder tucked under her arm and hands in her pockets as she started to hum the tune of a certain popular song that had originally been played in English, and not Japanese.

"... Hmmhmm... Champion... Champioooonnnn..." She mumbled, watching the monitor absentmindedly as the elevator slowed up and the bell went off.

She stepped out into a large open space with a city view and a circular room dead ahead with couches and chairs and tables. There were plants and other such niceties like lamps and decorative vases around, and pictures and paintings up on the wall ranging from bland to specific, highly stylized illustrations and photography of the Heroes. There was a small kitchenette with a fridge and microwave and a coffee pot- and a vending machine with various snacks and drinks. Branching out on either side, a hallway lead further into the building and into different offices and rooms, and meeting chambers- the walls cleanly painted and trimmed and posters put up just as frequently as monitors were... Broadcasting that same slideshow in the elevator, or some memo, or news report, the works.

Her head tilted slightly to the right and to the muffled sound of talking from somewhere in that direction- but she didn't pause on it for too long before she headed forward and sat down at one of the couches, crossing her knees over another and setting the folder down on the sofa at her side. She scrolled through her notifications as she waited, minding her own business and aware of voices and feet and talking- there were people all over this building, doing their jobs and their own thing. This Agency was successful, but it wasn't one of the more popular ones- it had dozens of Heroes signed on and for it they made a lot of money. But none of those Heroes were highly Ranked, the top-rated Hero in this Building was the No. 113, and the rest of them were lower with a few not Ranked just yet.

"Mm... Yeah, I'll see ya in a bit." And unfamiliar voice reached her ears but she didn't look up from her phone. There were footsteps getting closer to where she was but her attention was more fixed on the article she was reading about the attack on UA's Unforeseen Simulation Joint about a week back now.

 _'... Pro Hero Thirteen sustained heavy lacerations to the back during the attack, but official reports say that Thirteen is expected to make a full recovery. The Class's Homeroom teacher, Pro Hero Eraserhead sustained multiple injuries in defense of the students, and his recovery is expected to take longer...'_

 _Hmm... That whole thing sounds like a mess more and more I read about it... Even a week passed and the news is still hung up on it..._

She thumbed the page up, grimacing slightly at a picture of Thirteen's torn open suit shot at a shitty angle and through some police lines.

 _... Geez..._

"... Holy crap, you're Animal Spirit."

Spirit glanced up quickly at the sound of her name, her red eyes shifting over toward the side and the figure of a young man dressed in what was clearly a Hero Uniform, with large boots and a color scheme of orange and red. He'd originally been headed for the elevator, but upon seeing her sitting there he had sidetracked. She blinked once, seeing the faintly excited smile on his face and the way his eyes glittered... Either way though, she'd been to this Agency several times before now and she didn't recognize him. Spirit smiled, her phone falling slightly as nodded at him.

"Yep, that's me." She murmured, he let out a breath and stepped a bit closer, his hand extending as he grinned at her. Spirit stood up, taking his hand in return and shaking once- politeness and formality flaring out of habit.

"Wow, I'm honored to meet you! You're fantastic! And your Track record is spotless!" Her grinned, "You keep up with the most popular Heroes with your skill alone! You're great! I'm totally a fan~!" He chuckled, Spirit smiled a bit more. "Oh, name's Lepunn, by the way."

"Ah, nice to meet you." Spirit replied, "And thank you for the praises, I'm flattered..." She chuckled softly, their hands separating as his hands found his hips and Spirit's fell in her coat pockets.

"So what brings you here?" Lepunn asked, his eyes gleaming. "You're not thinking of signing in with this Agency are you? The Higher-ups would lose their minds of they could snag the No. 26!" Spirit smiled,

"No, no- sorry to disappoint." Spirit hummed, "I'm just visiting, and picking up a bit of mail. It's not uncommon for me to stop by here, actually." She elaborated, his head tilting in intrigue. "You're new here, yeah?"

"Heh, that obvious?" He chuckled,

"Well I've just never seen you around, and most everyone here is already used to me stopping by." Spirit explained easily, embarrassment flaring in her core though she kept smiling.

 _Plus you're doing the whole fan-boy thing..._

"Visiting for any particular reason?" Lepunn asked,

"No need to interrogate her, Newbie."

Lepunn jumped at the voice behind him out of nowhere and Spirit's eyes flashed a bit, her expression softening slightly as her attention shifted passed the curious Hero and toward the familiar, bulky form of Death Arms. He drew up behind Lepunn, his arms crossed about his chest and expression neutral. Lepunn stepped sideways quickly, his head snapping around toward Death Arms and eyes wide in surprise. The white-haired man simply quirked a brow at the surprised reaction, "D-Death Arms..!" Lepunn stammered,

"He's the one I'm visiting actually." Spirit smiled, tilting her head toward Death Arms as Lepunn's eyes widened in surprise. "We're old friends from High School."

"O-oh, I didn't realize...!" Lepunn murmured, "You two went to the same high school...?"

"Yes." Death Arms murmured lowly, clearly not at all looking to chit-chat... as per the usual. "Don't you have a Joint-Patrol to be getting to, Lepunn?" He asked dryly, the younger man jumped a bit and nodded quickly.

"O-oh right, I totally got sidetracked...!" Lepunn stammered, casting a small, nervous smile toward Spirit and backing up. "It was good to meet you, Animal Spirit~! Maybe we'll see each other some other time..?"

Spirit waved a hand at him, "Maybe." She hummed, he called the elevator up and the doors slid open. Spirit smiled a bit more, nodding toward him. "Good luck on Patrol~"

"Thank you!" He called back, stepping into the elevator and the door closing- leaving Spirit and Death Arms in the common area alone as Death Arms kept his eyes on the closed elevator doors a few moments. Spirit on the other hand deflated a bit, her eyes dropping closed as she let out a silent sigh and ran a hand through her bangs a bit.

"Was he really bothering you that much?" Death Arms asked easily, his eyes trailing back toward her as Spirit let out a small groan.

"It's wasn't him, really... I'm just pretty tapped out on being friendly and polite to people that I don't know right now..." She grumbled, Death Arms quirked a brow at that.

"So there is someone bothering you?" He asked, Spirit sweatdropped.

"Oh yeah, prepare for a rant over food..." She told him, smiling softly. "Sorry in advance if I complain a bunch, but I promise to lend my ear for anything you wanna rant about too." He let out a breath,

"I never complain about listening you know. I am well aware I'm the only person you actually talk to." Death Arms told her, she smiled in embarrassment. "And it's better you talk to someone than no one at all... You don't need to apologize for it, we've known each other too long, Spirit." His lips pulled slightly in what rare, casual side of him appeared for a split second- usually he was a pretty serious and straight to the point guy. He didn't mess around or tease, and he always stayed on target and on top of things- he just wasn't the sort to joke around or otherwise be... Hmm... Funny she supposed?

He'd always been like that, and that wasn't to say he wasn't a good guy- he was rather kind in his own way, and he did care about the safety of other people. And he and Spirit had known one another long enough and were on familiar terms, so he wasn't always so serious around her.

"Besides, you need some sort of social life- and you wouldn't have one without me... and the Agency thinks the more time I spend with you, I might convince you to sign on." He added casually, Spirit smiled.

"Hehe, you're not gonna have any luck with that." She chuckled,

"They don't know that." He replied easily, shrugging a bit. His head titled a bit, "So, ready for dinner? It's my turn to pay, if I remember correctly."

"Yep."

 **.:+:.**

"... He's like a freaking child, and he just a won't leave me alone...!" Spirit groaned quietly, chopsticks in hand and sitting cross-legged in the booth across from Death Arms. She stuck some more food in her mouth, grimacing to herself as he leaned back against the booth with one hand hung over the top and smoking as he listened to her- he'd finished his food a bit beforehand, but with all the talking Spirit had been doing she was slower.

The restaurant around them was busy but by no means packed- among the patron being a number of Pro Heroes or otherwise those who worked with them. Some of them were dressed up in their Hero Uniforms (like Death Arms) or more casual (like Spirit). It was a common place for Pros to grab food and avoid Press or Fans, and just eat in peace. They came here, and a few other places geared toward Heroes when she and Death Arms went out for food, and for the last half hour since arriving Spirit had delved first into the general catch-up chatter about her life, before eventually spiraling down into her frustrations and interactions with the Winged Hero Hawks.

(A recant of information she kept her voice down enough not to draw attention nor ears of course- even among a room of other Pros.)

"He's got it stuck in his head that we're gonna be friends or something and I don't hardly know him! And I went ahead and tried to explain to him you can't be chummy with people right away and he just took that as 'bug Spirit everyday until she gets used to being around me and I somehow miraculously stack up enough points to get out of the uneasy acquaintances zone'!" Spirit grumbled around the mouthful of food, Death Arms quirked a brow at that after awhile of simply listening.

"Points?" He murmured, Spirit's chewing halted at the question.

"Yeah, his words- his idea." Spirit grumbled, "Like he thinks social interactions between us earn him more 'points' toward being 'friends'. Like handling the cops with the body, and buying me food..." She elaborated, Death Arms blinked. "It's pretty clear he just rolls with things the way he chooses to, so even if I correct him he just goes back to calling it how he wants." She sighed, shrugging a bit. "I'm finding it's sometimes just easier to quit correcting him all the time..." She grumbled, Death Arms took a long intake of his cigarette, his eyes dropping closed in thought for a few moments.

"You said he wants to work with you?" Death Arms asked slowly, Spirit nodded.

"Yeah, though I don't understand why... I think most of this 'friendly' thing is because we're the only Heroes without an Agency in the top 30." Spirit grumbled, "And somehow that paints a big old 'bond with Spirit' sign on my back. It's almost like he just expects us to automatically snap together, that being in the same sort of situation- sort of- makes us compatible? But that makes no sense, and even outside of being so persistent and confident and cheeky- why would I ever want to work with him? Everyone who has ever worked with him have hated it, he's got all these bad habits of jumping in head first and leaving people behind. I don't wanna be stuck trailing after him and cleaning up his mess."

Death Arms' head tilted a bit to the side as he blew out a long, slow puff of smoke. "I've heard the stories, and he does have a bit of a habit of rushing full speed ahead." Death Arms mused, "They guy's got a lot going for him in terms of skill and appearances, but he's way too cocky..." he shifted his cigarette in his fingers. "If he keeps going at the rate he is, he's gonna get himself or somebody else killed." Spirit took another bite of her food, grimacing a bit to herself as she let her eyes drop to the table.

 _Yeah I already figured that..._

"Maybe you should work with him. Maybe you could mellow him out a bit, teach him to slow down." Death Arms said lightly, Spirit stiffened, her eyes snapping up and teeth clamping down on her chopsticks as her jaw locked.

"I'm sorry, _what_...?!" She snapped lowly, he shrugged.

"Look, you already know he's going too fast, too hard. He's got good skills and he's got a good image, but you have to be able to work with other Pros effectively to do your job right." Death Arms murmured, "And at the moment- he's rushing full speed ahead and trying to do everything on his own. He's rising up the ranks and putting himself in the spotlight just through his Hero Work, and that's discounting the fact he's trying to raise up his own Agency and make up his own rules all by himself. He's riding on a high right now that will either- somehow- manage a way to go right, or more likely- he's gonna crash, and it's going to be bad."

Spirit sweatdropped a bit, her lips a tight line and still in her seat as she just looked at him.

"I'd say you're pretty much on par with this guy for your skills, but you don't go around flaunting and being cocky. You're always careful and you're always mindful of the consequences of your actions, and other people. You never rush in head first without considering every angle you can- and on top of that, you know how to he patient, and how to judge when patience is needed." Death Arms went on despite the very flat stare she had settled on him, and very, very much _serious_ about what he was saying- by the way. "If anything, you should at least try to see if you can pass on a bit of your patience and caution onto him. It'll not just help him, but a lot of other people in the long-run." Death Arms murmured, she grimaced.

"This flying-fuck couldn't be bothered to listen or learn 'patience' from _Best Jeanist!"_ She retorted quickly, "What makes you think there's a snowball's chance in hell that he'd ever learn anything or even listen to _me_...?!"

"He sounds like the sort of guy that has to be _really_ interested in something to ever spend more time on it than a passing fancy, and even take it seriously." Death Arms said lightly, "And the way it's going- he's clearly _interested_ in _you_."

Her jaw snapped shut and she frowned, her red eyes flashing.

"Maybe his interest in you might be enough to let him learn something- or at least consider listening to what you have to say." Death Arms told her, and Spirit growled a little.

She hated the suggestion, but at the same time... Maybe there was a bit of a point in there.

But that just annoyed her more

"... Tch... I don't want anything to do with him...!" She snapped lowly, her arms crossing about her chest indignantly. "I'm not gonna play as his babysitter! Besides- he's not listened to a damn thing I've said so far, why would that suddenly change?!"

"You said he agreed with the 'levels of familiarity' thing." Death Arm commented, "Sounds like he _listened_ to me." Her eye twitched,

"You're supposed to be on _my_ side you know!" She huffed hotly, and he sighed.

"... Whatever... we'll quit now before we argue all night... Just give it some thought, Spirit."

 **.:+:.**

 _"Maybe his interest in you might be enough to let him learn something- or at least consider listening to what you have to say."_

 _...tch... Like that Feathers-For-Brains would ever learn how to be patient... Let alone from me._

She bit the inside of her cheek, glowering at the wall of the building she was facing- a few young, disheveled guys all tied up in front of her and grumbling from their seats and the concrete. Her hands were on her hips, her face a scowl and in her Hero Uniform- she'd been on Patrol now for the last three hours after having left food and Death Arms behind. In the midst of said Patrol she'd managed to not run into Hawks, and instead did her job- keeping an eye out, helping out another Hero (guy named Killjoy) with a small group peddling drugs, and then eventually those young guys tied up in front of her.

They'd tried robbing a convenience store a few minutes ago and hadn't gotten very far- she'd been up the street when they tried and been there in a few moments to muck up their plans and stop them in place. Now she was just waiting on the Police to come and pick them up... Whilst also fidgeting, she wanted to get going before a huge crowd showed up and tried to get her attention. Because inevitably when they did-

She heard the (by now) familiar sound of wings beating at air above her head, and the waft of air accompanying it.

"Hello, hello~!" Came the light, cheery voice from overhead, accompanied by bulging, unbelieving eyes from the young men tied up and on the floor in front of her, their faces tilting up and necks craning. "You got started late out on Patrol today, huh Spirit~?" He asked brightly, his shadow spilling out over herself and the ground from the light of the billboard behind them. Her eyes dropped closed, her expression twisting a little more than it already had and jaw clenched. "Up to anything interesting in the meantime~?" He asked, she heard the sound of his feet hitting the concrete and the lack there of, of his wings molding the air... She could also hear the distant sound of cars getting closer and police sirens. There'd be news reporters and other media personnel here soon enough.

 _Damn it_

She turned, her expression nothing but utter neutrality as her red eyes found Hawks and that carefree, snarky sort of smile of his. "Don't you have anything better to do than track me down every night?" She grumbled. He shrugged, still smiling as he stuck his hands in his coat pockets and rocked back on his feet a bit.

"Not really. Patrols have been pretty slow lately- not that I'm complaining~! I like being able to kick back and just fly without worrying about anything~" he hummed, "But it's even cooler if I get to hang out with someone like you, so I figure why not pop by~?"

 _1\. Because I'd rather you not_

 _2\. You clearly aren't getting it, but you are bothering me with all the popping up_

 _3\. We are not on the level of being friendly enough to just 'pop by' Bird-Brain_

"So anyway, you up for that meal?" Hawks asked cheerfully, "Oh, and the UA Sports Festival is coming up! You planning on going?"

"... Not today, and yes. But I'm not there to watch." Spirit mumbled lowly, his head titled in intrigue. She sighed, quickly weighing if it was worth it to tell him what she meant... Before deciding if didn't really matter. "I'm part of the Security for the event. They bumped up on it since the whole thing at the USJ." She elaborated dryly, he nodded.

"Oooooh, gotcha... That makes sense I suppose, though that means you're not gonna be able to scout any students for internships." He hummed, Spirit quirked a brow.

"... Why would that matter...?" she mumbled, he blinked. "... I wasn't planning on offering to take anyone as an intern to start with. Are you?"

"Of course~!" He smirked,

 _Oh I feel bad for whatever kid gets stuck with-_

"But why aren't you~?" He pressed,

"First- I don't have any Agency so I'd have to handle all the paperwork and request forms and delivery all by myself." Spirit deadpanned, his mouth opened to say something- probably _'I do too'_ , but she never let him say it before continuing. "Second- I'm not going to watch so I'm not paying attention to any of the students Quirks, so I won't have any opinion or want to work with any of them. Even if I did have an interest in doing an internship- which I don't- working security doesn't make for effective scouting." She went on, her arms crossing over her chest- and by not really caring the store-robbers were listening or the police and news had gotten there. "And Third- my Hero Hours aren't exactly the most convenient or logical hours a first-year out of UA would experiment with working. Why would any kid want to work 5pm to 6am?" She grumbled,

"Yeah well _technically_ you pick your own hours, so you could just alter your schedule for the Internship~!" He smiled,

"... Any wannabe Hero kid wouldn't really care about the hours if they got to work with the No. 26 Hero..." One of the robbers mumbled, Hawks smirked and gestured toward the man.

"He's got a point Spirit~!" Hawks hummed, Spirit's eye twitched, rounding on said man and glaring.

" _You_ just tried to rob a store, you don't get a say in this." She growled, he sweatdropped, his eyes dropping away nervously.

"Yes ma'am..."

"And just because you don't do anything other than fly around looking for fights, does not mean my schedule is as open as yours!" She rounded on Hawks again and his eyes widened in intrigue. "And like I already said, I am _not_ interested."

"It could be fun though~!" He trilled,

"No." She deadpanned,

"Ah, well maybe you'll change your mind by the time the Sports Festival rolls around~!" He smirked, "So no to dinner, huh~? You got other plans?"

"I already went out today. I'm not looking to go twice in one day." She huffed, he blinked.

"Oh, do you have someone other than me you hang around with~?" Hawks smiled, "I thought we were exclusive Spirit~!"

Her jaw snapped shut, her face flushing just slightly as her expression pulled into a scowl- she heard the robbers let out shocked little breaths, and she could feel their wide, intrigued eyes set on her.

"Y-you're a fucking idiot! Don't say that, it sounds like something it isn't..!" She snapped, stammering slightly despite herself as Hawks smiled casually- not at all bothered and so, so calm. Her eyes widened, flashing as she bristled even further.

 _HE DID IT ON PURPOSE_

"You fucking twat..!" She snapped hotly, his head tilted in intrigue again.

"Uhm... Animal Spirit...?"

Spirit and Hawks glanced around at the new voice, their eyes finding a man dressed in a police uniform. He looked rather nervous, glancing between both Pros and afraid he'd intruded on a conversation he shouldn't have- plus Animal Spirit didn't really look... pleased.

Spirit cleared her throat, stuffing away her agitation and embarrassment and putting on the polite, formal face she needed. She smiled at the Officer, "Yes sir, what do you need?" She asked with ease, he seemed a bit taken back at the sudden shift- but didn't really pause.

"We just need to take a quick statement from you about what happened, and we'll start loading the people you caught into the van." He told her, Spirit nodded. "... uhm, also... Mr. Hawks-" The Officer turned to Hawks next, who smiled coolly.

"Just Hawks if ya don't mind." He smiled,

"Ah, alright... Hawks- did you assist Animal Spirit..? If so we need a statement from you too.."

"Ah, nope~! Spirit handled these guys all on her own, I just popped by after she was done~!" Hawks hummed brightly, the Officer nodded.

"Alright, Animal Spirit could you follow me please?" The Officer looked to her once more and she nodded,

"Yeah." She hummed, catching Hawks eye as she passed him by.

"I'll pop in with the Press while you're at it~! Tell them what a good job ya did and everything~!" He told her, she frowned.

"You are _not_ my PR Rep, Hawks-" She started,

"Never said I was~! I'm not singing your praises to make ya more popular, I'm telling them because you really _are_ that awesome~!" He replied brightly, she frowned, her eyes narrowed to slits and grumbling.

"... tch... you're hopeless..." She grumbled hotly, turning her back on him promptly and followed the officer away.

 _I can't tell him not to do it because knowing him- he'd do it anyway... geez this guy is a fucking pain in my ass._

 _"Oh, do you have someone other than me you hang around with~? I thought we were exclusive Spirit~!"_

"... complete... _twat_..." She hissed under her breath, and low enough that no one would hear.

"Hawks! What happened here?"

"Did you and Animal Spirit capture these criminals?"

"Ahhh, nope~! Animal Spirit didn't need my help with these guys~! She's got everything covered easy~!" Hawks' voice reached her ears with ease even as she moved to give her story of the events to the police. "She took care of these guys in no time at all~! Just what I'd expect from someone as good as she is~! She's not a top Hero for nothing~! I just popped by to watch her work~!"

 _Hmph_

"There have been several people saying they've seen you and Animal Spirit together this week, is there something going on between you two?"

"Nah, just being friendly~! We're both working the same hours and over the same two districts this week, running into each other is just coincidence~!"

"You've been looking for a place to settle your own Agency, having any luck?"

"Nothing much just yet, but I bet it'll all work out~! I've been seeing a bunch of promising things so far~! Just gotta work some of 'um a bit~!"

"Do you plan to settle in Hosu permanently?"

"Mmm, probably not~! There are some appeals, but you know me~! I'm too much a free spirit to get tied down to any one place for too long~!"

Spirit's head tilted in the direction of his voice as she talked with the police, paying attention to them, but also to him too. He answered all their questions with the utmost ease, never faltering nor hesitating- never not smiling.

 _This is his element, huh?_

"Thank you for your help, Animal Spirit. We'll take things from here." The commanding Officer told her, she nodded.

"Yep, no problem." She hummed lightly, he headed off and she paused, her hands on her hips and aware of the flash of cameras from the paparazzi that had flooded in and were getting thicker once they realized Animal Spirit _and_ Hawks were here. She refrained from glancing that way though, after all it... wasn't her thing.

 _'Mysterious and secrets and shadows and things_ ' as he'd put it.

She sighed, her eyes dropping closed. She supposed it wouldn't do any harm to answer a few questions, be nice... sociable even, she hadn't really been that way in a few days, so she was sort of due.

"Do you have any plans on contending with the rumors that the Hero Killer has moved to Hosu?"

This time there was a pause in Hawks' easy replies, and Spirit instinctively stiffened at the question- her eyes snapping open and quickly glancing around to see how he'd reacted. Hawks was quiet, his usual carefree smile now erased entirely as he paused, his hand coming up and finding his chin in something like contemplation. Those brown eyes of his lowered on to the ground as he did so, the reporters and the cameramen, and the general public and the police, and even _Animal Spirit_ all waiting on his answer.

Hawks- the Winged Hero who was going too hard, too fast and was so carefree and even cocky. That same Hawks who blew through opponents and left other Heroes in his dust, with little a care to who he overlooked or passed up. The Hero who never looked afraid and was riding on a high right now, and for it- seemed almost invincible. She expected him to smile and assure them that Stain wouldn't be an issue for much longer. She expected a comment that dulled down the seriousness of the foe and wrote him off even... because it was Hawks, and he was overconfident, and brash, and unfazed by literally anything.

But he wasn't smiling, and he wasn't casual or cocky or carefree- there was a sudden _seriousness_ in him she hadn't ever seen before and she found herself fixed on him.

 _Wait a minute, where did this side come from..?_

"I've heard the rumors that Stain has made his way to Hosu, and I've been on the lookout for him since I got here." Hawks replied lowly, his gaze steady on the reporter who had asked the question- and everyone else. "He's a formidable opponent, and he's caused a lot of harm. It is my every intention to stop him, and keep him from harming anyone else, but I don't intend to rush in and seek him out blindly. This is a guy that needs to be dealt with, but doing so without a plan or being cautious is a mistake. Me or anyone else rushing in on this isn't a good idea, and it'll bite us in the ass without a doubt."

Spirit's eyes flashed, her expression slightly awed and surprised all at once.

 **.:+:.**

 _"You shouldn't judge the worth of other people on whether or not they can 'keep up with you'." She told him lowly, he blinked. "And you really shouldn't rush ahead into everything, eventually it's going to bite you in the ass." She warned softly, his eyes flashed slightly, the faintest hint of surprise dawning on his carefree expression at her words._

 _"Hmm." He mused, glancing back to his phone that he'd been holding aloft in his hand during the entire conversation. His smile widened a bit, his eyes glinting as he nodded, just once._

 _"Noted."_

 **.:+:.**

"... That being said, I am looking into it, and learning what I can about him. His days are numbered, and I'll make a move against him pretty soon." Hawks murmured, his seriousness fading a little as he smiled. "In the meantime if he decides to jump the gun and come after me himself, then I'll be ready. But try not to worry about me too much, and I suggest all Heroes- popular or not- be careful until we finally get this guy."

Spirit swallowed, her eyes glittering as she watched his smile grow a bit brighter, and a bit more easy-going as the questions steered away from the Hero Killer... but he never got to being as playful as he usually was.

 _... so he does take some things seriously...? He sounded genuine about it... about being careful and having a plan, not rushing into it..._

Her eyes narrowed, quiet for a moment as she bit the inside of her cheek.

 _... and it sounds like maybe... he did listen... just a little..._

She cocked her hip, her eyes trailing along the curve of those vermilion wings as his back turned toward her enough she couldn't see his face anymore.

 _... I kind of hate it when Death Arms is right..._

She smiled a bit despite herself, shaking her head.

 _Maybe he's not a complete twat after all..._

He glanced over his shoulder briefly, their eyes meeting and his widening as he found her suddenly not that far behind him- she'd been moving up to the crowd with little a sound and little a notice (as everyone was fawning over him of course). She stopped at his shoulder, arms crossed over her chest and their eyes separating as she glanced toward the crowd- and what new slew of questions and praises rose up to meet her once they realized she'd gotten closer.

"Animal Spirit!"

"I'm a huge fan!"

"Were you already in the area?"

"Do you plan to Patrol Hosu some more this week?"

"You're fantastic!"

"Are you planning to attend the UA Sports Festival?"

"Do you have any comment on the homicide investigation for the body found in the Hosu Prefecture Parking Garage?"

... among other things. She smiled politely, her red eyes flashing as she nodded toward the crowd.

"Thank you all for the support. I'm sorry I'm not gonna have time to answer your questions, but I only paused because I was up the street when things happened." She told the crowd lightly, "The Police have everything in hand now, and I need to get back to Patrol, as I'm sure Hawks ought to be getting back to as well. There's still plenty of city left to keep an eye on." She hummed, her eyes shifting to the side and toward Hawks, who smiled.

"Animal Spirit's right, this was a nice break talking with you all- but we got work to do~!" He told them, jumping on the hint to leave easily. He waved a hand at them, smirking. "You all stay out of trouble yeah~? If ya don't I'll help ya of course~" He chuckled, he earned small laughs in return and dreamy sighs from fans (woman mostly). Spirit's arm brushed against his elbow, her head tilting in a motion for him to follow her a little ways away from the barricade and the crowd. He took that hint with without a moment of hesitation too, and followed along beside her with a small smirk. "You're still goin' for the dark and mysterious vibe I see~" He hummed, she sighed.

"Don't ruin it. Stay still and shush for a minute." Spirit ordered quietly, his eyes raised in clear intrigue as her hand caught his elbow and halted him once they were a few dozen feet away, and they'd shifted a to have their shoulders facing the crowd. His brow quirked, his hands stuffing in his pockets and intent on what she said and what she was doing-?

Spirit let out a small, almost exasperated sigh and shook her head at him. She lift a hand, her index finger extended and raised, and her other hand on her hip. "You get _one_ 'pause just long enough to get a good paparazzi photo'." She said simply, he blinked. "And _only_ because I turned you down on a meal, when it's my turn to pay."

His eyes gleamed, his attention breaking briefly from her face and toward her shoulder as he saw a haze of black-red begin to appear behind her, bits and pieces of the air wavering like black shards of glass. It was a cloud of distorted reality that slowly but surely started to condense and form something he'd seen before-

She smirked, almost coy as she stepped up and passed him- her hands brushing along and parting the feathers in his wings as she kept walking, slow and purposeful as bits of black glass made of energy or whatever fell like a rain behind her. Dancing off and falling from the pair of large, slightly see-through, ghostly black wings at her back. Her red eyes caught his from the side in a single instant, her gaze glowing faintly- before their line of sight got broken. The simple sensation of her hand meeting his wing sent shivers up his spine. Her fingers ran through the feathers as she kept walking, his wings arching under the contact and stiff in his spot as he instinctively stretched them out behind him, following her movement and raising them up high as her hand left the sea of red. Her wings lift too, the topmost feathers brushing against his own and mixing- both wings extended in air and woven together here and there, both Pros standing with their backs to one another. Hawks with his hands in his coat pockets and head tilting back, smirking to himself and Spirit pausing, her hands on her hips and head tilted downward, smiling a bit.

Their feathers mixed, brushing against each other and clashing- his red and almost burning in the lights of the city nightlife around them... and hers dark and shimmering, swallowing up the light and ghostly- almost a shadow of his, reflected on water. A wash of glittering black sand in an ocean of fiery red, two pairs of giant, elegant wings touching and forming an arch- outlined in a backdrop of deep blue and the outline of rising buildings dotted among a night sky you couldn't see the stars in... and at either end the No. 26 and the No. 24, both of them smiling.

The few, fleeting seconds Spirit paused in her walking and stayed like that with him- they seemed to stretch to something much longer, somehow... in it's own way it was almost ethereal.

And it lasted long enough

"Try not to get yourself killed, yeah Bird-Brain?" Spirit hummed lightly, never bothering to glance back toward him. Hawks smirked, his eyes still fixed on the sky but all his attention on her regardless. And why not? The sudden action and subtle, quick little pose was so, so new for her usual demeanor- and he wasn't sure what prompted it... not that he was complaining, mind you.

"Hah, will do~!" He hummed brightly, "You be careful too, huh Spirit~? Not that I'm that worried about you anyway, you're a bad-ass, you can take care of yourself no sweat~" Spirit felt her heart jump a bit at the words, her eyes flashing as she bit the inside of her cheek.

 _Aaaaaand there's the child side again_

"See ya tomorrow~?" He asked next, lower so no one would hear it, and Spirit hummed.

"We'll see, Bird-Boy. Don't push it too much." Spirit replied lowly,

"Hmm, fair enough I suppose~!" He smiled, Spirit started forward again, their wings pulling apart as she jumped up and into the air, her body being lost to a black haze and Shifting into an eagle in the course of a few seconds. Her wings flapped soundlessly in air as she lift herself higher into the sky and soon enough flew out of sight, Hawks turned to watch her go, his wings folding back in toward himself and smiling still as his eyes gleamed. When he lost sight of her, he cast a sideways glance toward the crowd set up behind the barricade, and to which there were people goggling and several snapping photos- many in particular of the subtle, planned little pose of the two of them... Initiated by Spirit no less. What a turn...

He hummed under his breath, his hands reaching up to put his headphones over his ears.

"... oh that picture is gonna look great~!"

 **.:+:.**

 _Well_

Hawks on the left, Spirit on the right- their wings forming an arch of red and black and outlined in the night sky and the city lights... the camera even managed to catch a bit of the glow of his feathers and the refracted light from the pieces of black falling from her was a good enough view of her face and his to see them both smiling, both of them carefree almost and content... but something about the picture had a more potent feel to it.

And don't get her wrong, it was a great picture- whoever took it had done a great job and caught them at the perfect moment in that moment she'd set up on purpose... it was probably one of the better pictures there was out there that had her in it. You know, since she didn't really wait long enough to let the Paparazzi get anything super good... but this once- it looked _great_ , and she was both impressed and a bit embarrassed at the same time. Because?

 _It... went viral_

Spirit thumbed the photo up a bit on her phone screen, her eyes tracing along the sheer number of views of the article it was attached to.

 _546 million and counting_

And that was just this website- this picture had since then been taken and posted and cycled around the whole of the internet and through hundreds upon thousands of other sites and the like since going up. People were all over it, it wasn't even just the internet- it had popped up on tv's in the city, billboards, magazines, newspapers-

 _The guy who took that picture must have made fucking bank for it_

And then there were the people who altered it, did manipulations, redrew it- _fanart_ for fuck's sake. She usually avoided any lengthy amount of time perusing the internet and all it joys (dark corners), but hot damn.

 _I didn't think it was gonna blow up that big_

If Hawks was the talk of the country before, he was now the talk of... well, the world probably. And she was right there with him, because of one photo.

The official consensus on the state of the photo was what it was- she and Hawks had run into each other out on Patrol and one lucky cameraman managed a once in a lifetime split second photo of the both of them. Which is what she was going for and hoping would be the story, but of course other people had other thing to say and theories to spin.

 _'Hawks and Animal Spirit secret relations?'_

 _'No. 26 and 24 friends?'_

 _'Friendly rivalry?'_

 _'Since when were Hawks and Animal Spirits on the same speaking terms?'_

 _'Something more blossoming after Hosu Prefecture Parking Garage?'_

... and other such, and so on. All of which got even more fan for the flame after his very public appraisal of her skills to the press not a few minutes before the photo was taken.

It was too late to go back on the split second decision to give into a photo, but not too late to regret it... because this was a lot more attention than she really wanted. And she certainly didn't really want the media or the world to think she and Hawks were 'pals' when they really weren't. And she was sure to be prodded and questioned about it today when she arrived at UA for that Security Gig for the Sports Festival, and she wasn't particularly looking forward to it... nor the knowing look she was sure to receive from Death Arms. You know, pending his suggestion to give Hawks a chance and work with him... so she could teach him something.

 _Not that I'm yet convinced he actually would learn anything, mind you... but what he said about Stain was at least... sensible_

 _Which really wasn't like him, or how he's been acting thus far... so that was a surprise_

She shook her head a bit, locking the phone screen and putting it in the pocket in her suit again. She was walking through the rather quiet and empty streets of Hosu's mid-morning, on her way toward UA and taking her time... she was a bit early as it was, and had time to take her time getting there. The lack of people out and about was not much a surprise though, everyone knew today was the Sports Festival and most had already settled themselves into their homes, local bar, club, restaurant- you name it- to sit back and watch. Most stores in the city itself were closed for the event and the food and entertainment places were hunkered down ready to serve the tide of people looking to watch. This was Japan's most looked forward to event, and it was a similar mood in other countries too- UA was the premiere Hero School and it's Sports Festival had reached Pre-Quirk Olympic fame.

She was usually working today herself, whether it was working the bar or just taking up extra Hero Patrol duties- which was needed for the most part. Since the Sports Festival was so popular, and there were so many Pros looking to watch and potentially recruit students- there was a significant drop in the number of Heroes on Patrol and working during the whole affair. Those Heroes who couldn't earn a spot in the Arena at UA, or afford one, usually filled in the gaps and made sure to be working in case things happened... which always did. There was always some crime or accident or other, and there always needed to be Pros around to handle those situations. And she was usually happy to step up and do so. It beat working a bar in a crowded and overfilled club, and Patrol's on UA Sports Festival days were usually pretty slow and easy going... and she was in something a similar boat for today, working Security for the event. Only this time she was getting paid for doing so~!

But either way, the Sports Festival was due to start in 45min or so, and she was expecting to reach UA in the next twenty or so minutes to settle in with the other Heroes working Security and whatnot. And anyway, anyway... she was mostly sticking to side-streets and less trafficked avenues on her way to UA, even if there was a lack of people around right now. Because she'd like to avoid drawing any sort of crowd right now, and she would walk faster as a human than a cat.

 _I suppose I could just fly there too, but that's less relaxing_

Her hand found the ID card attached to the lanyard around her neck absentmindedly as she continued on her way, her eyes wandering and just taking everything in as she walked.

She hadn't seen Hawks the day following when the picture was taken, or the day following that- which was odd, but she honestly didn't mind much. He'd been being a bit of a pest and having him gone for awhile was relaxing... especially since today she was sure he was gonna find a way to 'pop in' while she was doing Security for the event.

 _And knowing him he's gonna grin and wave that picture around_

But maybe that was worth dealing with. Today was going to be easy, she was working with a number of other Pros at one of the most secure places in Japan- no one in their right mind would ever dare starting something at UA today and hope to get away with it. So that meant a lot of sitting back and managing crowd control, no fighting, and having an altogether pretty content time... content and easy and no sweat and getting paid for her time.

 _And to add to it- I'm doing that instead of running a bar on the busiest day of the year for a bar._ _It's quite lovely really._

Her red eyes trailed upward toward the sky, still holding lightly to the ID badge with one hand.

 _I wonder who else got assigned to Security...?_

She blinked, her eyes catching a flock of birds passing over the street.

 _... probably no one else in the top 100th portion of the Rankings... all of those are probably watching in the stands today, and if not they probably wouldn't agree to work Security like I did... maybe that Wood Quirk guy?_

 _...mmm... and maybe that guy from Death Arms' Agency I met the other day... Lepunn was it?_

 _He was excited to meet me... I'm sure there are other Pros working this thing that'll be the same way... There's always someone_

She took in a deep breath, her eyes falling shut and shaking her head a bit.

 _Oh the price of fam-_

The breath she took it faltered, her eyes snapping open and her steps stuttering as a scent flooded her nose and made her heart skip a beat. It was faint, and hardly there at all- for a few seconds she wondered if she imagined it... but another quick breath told her that it wasn't in her head and she stiffened.

 _Blood... Old blood, almost rancid and sour... What the fuck...?_

Her eyes cast across the empty street and around her, searching for other people and finding none- her nose twitching slightly as she kept sniffing at the air and her red eyes glittering.

 _... It smells... It's heavy, but faint... Like a lot of different blood mixed into one new scent... But from someone who isn't close by_

A bead of sweat fell down her face, her eyes narrowing to slits as she stepped up and toward a small back alley- nose on high alert and the rest of her too. She Shifted into a cat, her paws hitting the sidewalk and padding forward slowly and cautiously, her ears twitching this way and that. Her head angled down, sniffing lightly at the ground and red eyes narrowed to slits.

 _... Blood and human... And... Metal..._

She paused in the shadows, her eyes moving up the alley and away from the direction that would lead her to UA. She stood there, rigid and fur sticking up despite herself as she looked as far up the alley she could and toward the bend, ears shoved forward and listening intently... It felt like there were ants crawling through her fur, making her shiver.

It was utterly quiet and that set her on edge further... Animal instinct or sixth sense or whatever...

 _... Something isn't right... The air is heavy, almost... Grim_

Her tail twitched, her ears pressing back against her head and claws digging into the ground a bit. She knew the sudden feeling on instinct, and it grew from faint, imperceptible nothing into an icy spear that stuck through her core in the next few seconds.

 _Bloodlust_

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed the Chapter! The next one is exciting XD**

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	5. Chapter 5- Choose

**Chapter 5**

 **Choose**

 **.:+:.**

 _You being here, around me... Anywhere near me. You make me do things I don't mean to. You make me... Not me_

 _I trusted you, asshole_

 _... What a fucking mistake that was..._

 **.:+:.**

What was old blood on the air turned to new, and fresh... And so, so much of it

Her feet were scraping on the ground, pads tearing across the concrete she was sprinting over at breakneck speed- her heart in her chest racing a million miles and thumping painfully against her ribcage. That feeling of bloodlust had evolved into nothing less than sheer, unbridled, murderous intent- active, actual _action_

Her fur stood on end, her claws scratching against the concrete and pushing forward harder and faster- no matter how much her legs stung or her body burned with the movement, or her lungs ached.

Something is _wrong_

She wound around corners and lamps and trashcans, dodging out of streets and alleys and small spaces between buildings- drawing further and further from the main roads and toward the darker, less frequented places of Hosu. Further and further away from UA and closer toward where that heavy feeling reigned and the scent of blood became so potent the streets must have been running scarlet with it. Panic and urgency rushed through every vein and tendon and nerve, a surge of unbridled, hardly controlled emotion that instantly shut off what would have been better sense.

She forgot patience, planning- all of it. The only thing on her mind in those minutes of running was;

 _Faster_

... she knew what this was, almost immediately- even without any real proof or visual confirmation.

 _She knew_

She knew what sort of sight would be awaiting her long before she rounded the last corner into an alley so far away from any main street, it was nearly boxed in. The buildings so close together the sun was nearly blotted out and it was the back of every back of warehouse and building around it- silent and empty but _not_ that.

She saw the smear of red swept across badly cracked and dirtied walls, puddles of crimson littering the concrete and a multitude of singular drops splashed around haphazardly. There were bits and pieces of metal, shattered and crumbling and littered in blood and across the ground- pieces of knife and armor and glinting in the low-light and catching her eye as her gaze swept across the alley in rushed, frantic attention and found the thing that made her heart stop.

The light at the far end of the alley was blocked by the figure of a muscular man, his flat, triangular face noseless and cast in such deep shadow all she saw was the glint of eyes dark and cold and hungry... like drops of blood in themselves that matched what crimson was scattered over everything. His messy black hair was tangled in the tattered cloth pulled over his eyes and his forehead, mixing with the blood-red of the scarf abut his neck and the sunlight glittering off steel-plated combat suit and buckles and a multitude of knives strapped to every possible place on his body... light that glittered from the wicked, curving blade held aloft in the air before him and hovering over the mess of blood and broken body and armor of an Engine Hero who was no longer on his feet.

"Fame... money... no matter where ya look... you've got the nerve to go by the name 'Heroes'..." Came the low, panting, hissing voice filled with so much hate. The same voice that sent an icy chill running through her as she tilted around the corner, eyes wide and fur fluffed up.

"Haaah... not one of you bastards is a damn Hero... only he is..."

The sword shifted, the tip of it lifting slightly as the cruel grip grew tighter and those blood-red eyes flashed, dangerous and wicked and crazed. The entire alleyway was awash in a feel and an energy that was suffocating, spin-chilling, and...

"Haaah... the only one who's allowed to do me in... haah... is All Might..."

Her blood was like ice, her heart deafening on her ears and yet there was nothing that could block out that voice, nothing could block out the panting or the wheezing knight bleeding out on the ground. Panic and sheer terror struck through her soul like it never had before, her breathing faltered and her rushing did too- like her body seized without her wanting it to.

 _T..that's..._

The sword lift up to it's height, time dragging by in slowness as he reached the climax, and the Hero Killer licked his lips, the tip of the blade angled over the cracked chest-piece and over the Knight's heart.

 _Stain_

"Goodnight... fake Hero."

The sword plunged downward, quick and heavy- deadly

 _Ingenium!_

Her muscles burned, her teeth bared and already darting down the alleyway before the Hero Killer finished his goodbye, her body a black blur and wavering as she tore across the concrete and toward the man who'd killed too many Heroes and injured so many others beyond saving. Her paws hit blood and her claws wore lines in the ground, full speed ahead and never wavering even under the cloud of sheer death and destruction that monster gave off. Never giving in to the fear coursing through every smidgen of her body, mind and soul even when everything inside her wanted to run- she went straight forward and toward the wicked beast and didn't care.

 _Reckless_

She launched herself upward and off the ground, her body a cloud of fractured reality and red eyes blazing as she sailed straight over Ingenium and headfirst toward the Hero Killer. The Hero Killer whose cold, dead eyes found her in the next few seconds between moving his sword to land a fatal blow, and switched gears without hesitation to combat what new body there was for him to maim. His sword flashed, swinging up and around to stab out toward Animal Spirit in midair, her red eyes locked with his even as the cat faded and something different took it's place-

Spirit growled, her head tilting as she angled herself and caught the edge of the blade coming toward her along the side of the horns curling from her head. Her cat form abandoned and her weight nearly tripling in the course of a few seconds, her paws now wickedly sharp hooves and bulking on a ton of muscle under ebony black fur. Her body weight and momentum rammed straight into the Hero Killer's torso and she bowled him backward with near ease, his sword leaving a nick in her horn as it dislodged and he wheezed, the breath driven from him and a few ribs probably cracking in the process.

Spirit landed on the ground where Stain had previously been, her hooves scraping against the stone loudly and posture squared and defensive- her body a sudden wall between the murderous little wretch and the hardly breathing Engine Hero behind her, eyes glazed and dazed, but widening when Ingenium realized what just happened.

"A...animal... Spir...it...?" The downed Knight wheezed, her ear twitched backward at him but her red eyes never left the Hero Killer. Who, by the way, recovered from having the full force and weight of a 200-odd pound goat ram her horns into him rather quickly. Stain's boots slid back on the concrete, using his sword as leverage in the stone as he righted himself and slid back, expression dark and blood-red gaze locked with hers.

She huffed, snorting as her head lowered and the black haze sprung up with fury, distorting her form and the air around it as she Shifted into something else, standing with all four paws on the ground and claws digging into the concrete, shoulders squared and lips pulled back in a snarl- the snort turning into a low, dangerous growl that rang around the alley. The Hero Killer kept his eyes fixed with the furious red glare of the ebony-black jaguar staring him down across the alley, her tail twitching behind her in anger.

"... another one..." Stain hissed, his eyes narrowed to slits and straightening up slightly, his sword moving from the concrete. "... stay out of my way Animal Spirit, this fake Hero needs to be purged."

"Screw you." She snapped back lowly, he just frowned. "I'm not gonna stand back and watch you kill someone, regardless if you think he's a 'fake' Hero or not!"

"If you try and stop me, I will retaliate." Stain warned lowly, Spirit snarled.

"If you try and touch him I'm going to tear you to pieces." Spirit shot back lowly, Stain growled, his eyes raking over her form in sheer deadly silence for a few moments, before he tensed.

"So be it." Stain hissed, his feet shifting as he shot forward and sword raising. Spirit stiffened, her body tensing too as she readied herself for what was going to be a _hell_ of a fight.

 _This guy goes around killing Pros... And for what?!_

She crouched slightly before pushing herself forward and toward him and away from Ingenium- there needed to be some distance between Stain and the Engine Hero.

 _What he calls fake Heroes... Who gives a damn?!_ _He's a human being... a living breathing person for fucks sake!_

Stain skirted around her as he got near, his attention clearly trained on Ingenium instead of herself-

 _Not a damn chance_

She twisted, her body whipping around and Shifting forms in an instant- big cat traded for massive python. She lunged out, her jaw wide and fangs as she hissed- he jerked his head away from her and her jaw only managed to snap down on his scarf instead of his body. It didn't matter much, she was still moving- her body lean and smooth and strong as she coiled herself around his legs and figure and stopped him in his tracks before he could get all the way passed her. She started to wind herself around him tightly, looking to bind him and hold him in place- and until he passed out with enough pressure- but he was ready for her.

 _Shit this guy is fast-_

His sword got passed into one hand and his other pulled out a shorter knife in the span of an instant, the edge cutting clean across her skin and scales and earning a well of blood _._ Pain raced up through her body as her skin split, coiling faster despite the blade to try and tie him down. His tongue lolled out, long and misshapen as he drew it across the line of red on the blade, smearing it into is mouth in the midst of her trying to tighten around him.

One, little smear of blood and she _stopped._

She felt her muscles seize without warning, all will to move suddenly failing her and paralyzed in a single instant- her red eyes wide and heart jumping in panic. It didn't matter how much she wanted to or how hard she pushed, her body wouldn't listen to her. It was like being trapped inside her own body, with no power and no way to get out... her body a prison and stuck in place the instant her blood hit his tongue.

 _Shit, shit..!_

She'd heard things about Stain the Hero Killer. She knew he was ruthless, and powerful, and fast- and his Quirk had something to do with paralyzing people... Stain was a murderer and a force to be reckoned with. He was not someone you rushed in and started fighting without a plan or something... he was not someone you faced lightly, and not someone you stood against and hoped to win. Even for a Hero in the top 30th Ranking, even for _her_ , Stain was an S-Class Villain and she very much stood the chance of getting herself killed.

She knew that, she knew that before she rushed in and before she ever placed herself between him and Ingenium... she knew that even when he warned her to back off. She knew and she didn't fucking care, the only thing she cared about in that instant was one thing- instinct and morality, and obligation and need and whatever the hell else you wanted to call it- only one thing mattered, from the exact second she rounded the corner and saw what was going on.

 _Save him_

Stain's hand clapped down around her neck, ripping her free from his scarf and twisting. He pulled her full weight and length around and sent her flying back down the end of the alley from where Ingenium was, and she landed in a heap and a painful thud against the concrete, still paralyzed. Paralyzed only after two minutes of rushing into this in the first place... _SHIIIIIT!_

Stain replaced the knife he'd pulled out to cut her in it's sheathe, those cold dead red eyes of his finding hers and scowling, though he looked not at all bothered by what short-lived conflict there had been between them. She struggled, cursing and hissing and trying everything to just move a single fucking muscle, her heart pounding and blood roaring and she caught his eyes- staring him down and glaring daggers.

 _Move damn it!_

"... pointless..." He huffed lowly, his eyes flashing before he looked away from her and she was still struggling, her muscles twitching and spasming with all the force and effort she put into that simple notion- _move._

But it wasn't enough, she couldn't even get up, she couldn't... _FUCK THIS_

Her eyes snapped shut, feeling like she was bound to a jumbo jet and crushed underneath it- and still she pushed, willed and wished and screamed on the inside for something... _move, shift change, WORK damn it!_

Her body wavered, black-red shimmering off her form and licking at the air in jagged, uncoordinated pieces. The length of her snake body got swallowed up in pieces and sections. Bits of ethereal, see-through energy like glass dotting against the ground and jagged sections like electricity sparking off of her as she hissed, jaw clenched and straining with everything she possibly had. Parts of her got lost to the haze, other bits twisted and merged and looked... wrong, parts of her managing some semblance of Shifting into something else but never getting all the way. Her body and her cells manipulating and converging, breaking down and rewriting themselves trying to do what she wanted- make her Quirk work... make her DNA alter and her body follow suit to fit the need and structure of whatever she chose, and with every partial, twisted, incomplete Shift- she burned more energy, grew more strained, and she didn't dare stop.

Because with every malformed, undistinguished, incomplete part of her that flashed between snake to human to whatever the hell else, she was trying everything she had in her 'repertoire'- she was trembling more, jittering and uncontrolled and shaking terribly, but more and more her cells and her DNA were drawing closer to rewriting themselves entirely.

 _I have got to... just one full Shift... come on... come on...!_

Stain was moving toward a still paralyzed, and bleeding to death figure of Ingenium- the Engine Heroes gaze so blurred and unfocused all he saw of his killer was a dark, blurry shadow outlined in a light so so harsh from the end of the alley. He saw a sudden flash of light bounce from the edge of a badly worn katana still stained with his blood, and his eyes dropped further when his strength continued to fail him.

Animal Spirit was not who Stain wanted, he'd come here looking to kill select 'Heroes' and among them- she was not on that list... but the famous Ingenium was.

 _Worthless_

He swung his sword up not three feet from the fading Hero, ready to be done with this and move to the next- but he faltered. He heard the sound of heavy footfalls moving fast behind him,putting him immediately on the defense and starting to swing around to see what other nuisance had dropped into the scene like Animal Spirit had- his red eyes growing wide and stricken when he caught glimpse of an ebony black creature from the corner of his eye a second before he felt the stinging sensation of claws in his back.

 _How is she already...?!_

Spirit sank her claws in, catching traction on his armor and tearing slices into his skin to start with, pulling backward and dragging him around with her as she tossed him back the way he had come and away from Ingenium for the second time in the five minutes since she arrived... and not thirty seconds after he'd paralyzed her.

Stain twisted, managing to land on his feet and on the defense again in the next second, his sword raising and scowling as he shot a hate-filled, disgusted look her way- Spirit had already whipped around and was moving toward him with a speed near as incredible as his own, and was on top of him before he managed to regain his balance all the way. That massive, lean figure of a jet black jaguar was in front of him as he swiped up, his blade cutting through her fur just barely (and not enough to earn a single drop of blood) as she dodged him and brought a paw up to tear across his hand and knock the sword away with one, lightning fast, jarring blow.

Stain pushed himself backward and out of her reach, and she was _still_ on top of him. She followed him, her body twisting around him and ramming herself into the Hero Killer from the back. Her front paws darted forward and she Shifted partially back into her Human form, while still keeping the claws and the strength. She sank her claws into him, one hand clapping down on his shoulder and the other digging into his wrist and the watch around it as he swung a knife around in her direction. She caught his glare for half a second as she started to pull him around and try to unbalance him, but his leg swung up and his boot slammed down with agonizing force into the wound he'd left on her body in snake form, and subsequently persisted on her leg.

Said leg buckled underneath her a bit and she let out a pained yelp, and he took it as opportunity to push her back and off of him, ripping free from her grip and swiping out with his knife in one fluid motion. Spirit leaned backward, the edge of the blade missing her by half an inch as she pushed back and flipped over, landing in a cat-like crouch and eyes flashing as she saw him move toward her at breakneck speed. Her hand fell to unhook one of the straps around her leg and she waited long enough he got close, before rolling away and twisting the strap around his ankle. Her teeth snapped down on the strap and she Shifted into a cat, darting underneath him in the same instant he stabbed downward and pulling the strap with her- she yanked, _hard._

It had near the desired effect, he stumbled a little but he cut the strap in half and she lost her leverage. Her ears shoved backward, hearing his movement but not glancing his way and she spun in place and headed directly left- jumping up into the air and her paws hitting the wall of the alleyway before pushing herself back at him. She Shifted back into her Human form halfway and swung around with her knee, aiming for him and missing him as he dropped into a crouch.

 _Damn it he is fucking fast!_

She had no time between landing on the ground again before he swung up with his knife. This time she didn't have the traction nor the balance to dodge, and she bit down on her tongue against the rush of pain as the blade cut a deep line through the skin of her upper right arm, her blood springing upward into the air and eyes glittering.

 _SHIT_

Her body was wavering and fracturing from the instant the blade made contact, the body and figure of Animal Spirit the woman fading into nonexistence as Animal Spirit the eagle flared into life and she flapped up, in air the instant he drew his tongue across the blade and her blood- and _nothing happened._

 _New animal, new DNA, new_ _ **blood**_ _, you fucking asshole_

She angled downward, talons extended, her wings a flurry and feathers blotting out the sky and his view as she ducked in and over his head. His knife swung up, the tip of the blade digging into her wing and splitting the feathers- but missing muscle and tendon. She dropped down on top of him, her talons digging into scarf and yanking him backward by the neck, throwing him off balance and driving the wind from him briefly as she jerked him downward and Shifted from an eagle into cat, she landed on the ground lightly.

Now of course she couldn't risk changing back into a form she'd been in and he'd gotten the blood for... as it was it was just theory that Shifting into different animals could throw his Quirk off in the first place. And needless to say, he wasn't going to make the mistake of giving her enough time to Shift again if he paralyzed her. He might not even try and immobilize her at this point. He probably wouldn't want to run the risk of letting her get free again and get another hit in, so instead he was more likely to just finish her off in whatever split instant chance he got... which sucked, and made opposing him a hundred more times more dangerous than it already was.

If there was anything Spirit was known for, it wasn't outright strength. She could Shift into an animal with a considerable strength and size sure, but most of those animals were large ad bulky and sucked for working in a city or tight spaces. When she worked she relied on quick thinking, agility and speed- to be able to Shift between different forms at breakneck pace and catch her opponents off guard. Use her wits and interchange different skills and traits from animals in rapid succession while still using them to her advantage. Agility, speed and technique had more to do with her success than strength and overwhelming power or ability... which is why planning and patience were key, but planning and patience were not up for grabs right now.

She was working on the fly with him, doing everything she could to stay out of his reach and keep up with _his_ insane speed- stay in blind spots and keep moving so he had to keep readjusting. She couldn't stay in one spot too long, that left her way too open and he was fast enough he would get her if she didn't keep moving... and that meant she didn't have any good chance of grabbing on to him and binding him in any way without risking getting herself stabbed or worse.

 _This is not a guy a close-quarters Hero like me is got any good chance with... damn it_

And to add on top of that he wasn't just fast- he was fucking bulky, heavy and well built and strong to boot... and he didn't react nor make any semblance of noise when she tore her claws into him or anything of the sort. It didn't faze him, nothing- nothing about him was worried or intimidated, he was calm and focused and he didn't seem like he felt pain at all.

She spun around and darted away from his foot as he kicked out toward her, the toe tipped with a blade she barely missed. She put a bit of distance between herself and him, weaving this way and that to avoid the throwing knives he sent toward her and stuck into the ground hard and fast with a metallic _shing._

The last blade tore a line over her shoulder and she hissed, staggering slightly but never halting as she Shifted into something else, breaking free from the black-red haze, large round ears and lean body, fur a molted design of different hues of black, long tail and quick as all hell as she twisted around and leapt across the threshold toward the Hero Killer with a sudden newfound burst of speed owed to a lithe, agile, curious creature such as the African wild dog.

She circled him, pushing off the wall and using the speed and the momentum from the one form to transfer over into a different one as she Shifted again into the goat from before and rammed her horns into his head hard enough to knock him backward, and wind him. He stumbled, but it didn't wind him nearly at all (how!?), and his feet hit the wall as he jumped away and over her head in the next second, agility and acrobatic skill flaring as he swept his arm forward and sent a knife streaming downward through the air toward her faster than she could possible move to dodge.

She Shifted again, her figure condensing down into a rabbit and jumping away at the last second- dodging the blade only because of the sudden decrease in size.

Stain took opportunity of the small lapse in having her constantly push forward at him, and snatched up his katana from where it had been thrown away. Spirit caught sight of him doing so from the corner of her eye, and was already moving out toward him, moving in leaps and bounds as a rabbit and closing the distance between the both of them in no time at all.

Stain the Hero Killer... murderer of 17 Heroes and countless others.

Stain the S-Class Villain who sent fear through the hearts of everyone he faced and surely had her heart pounding and fear coursing through her veins every second she fought with him.

Stain the Hero Killer who specialized and dominated in close-quarters combat, and even mid-range... the Hero Killer with a wicked skill with swords for cutting and hurting and harming, and she was fighting him with a Quirk that was a poor match. Long-range Quirks, or even a Quirk that specialized in defense would have been the best match for him- and she was not that. This was a _terrible_ match for her, and realistically she was at a clear disadvantage in every possible way... and it didn't matter. She didn't care, she kept at it, thinking fast and on her toes and pushing forward faster and harder and never letting up, never giving him more than a few seconds to recover and counter.

And he was good- _ridiculously_ good, he was powerful and dangerous and he was a monster of a human being... so many Pros before her had fallen to Stain the Hero Killer. _S-Class_ Villain in a world where few ever reached that label.

But damned if she wasn't the No. 26 Hero for a reason

It was a blur, all of it- they were both moving so fast it was insane. Both of them lashing out and winding around each other, head to head and toe to toe and never pausing for a single heartbeat. She kept her sights on him as he dodged and moved and jumped around the walls around her, trying to do as she was- stay out of her direct view, unbalance her, anything.

 _I'm not that easy to kill_

They were both panting, out of breath and high-strung but never wavering either. Her attention was fixed on him and yet there was a portion of her mind still diverted, and the urgency that had persisted in her soul was getting worse.

In an alleyway littered with blood, they added more to it- _both_ of them. Spirit's claws nicking him and ringing as she scratched the metal of his armor and his blades, sending thin spray and dribbles here and there she earned from the Hero Killer... and her own blood mixing with it as he manged one small cut here, another there- shallow, thin, little lines and so few over the course of the fight she wasn't slowing down for them, or over anything else. The next cut she earned as a wild dog, another after that as a goat, the last in the little bits of skin he split was when she failed to dodge fast enough as a rabbit but still managed to knock him backward as a jaguar.

 _Python, wild dog, goat, human, rabbit and cat are out the window_

 _Do not let up_

 _Wear him down and do not let him get a chance to paralyze you_

 _This asshole is not going to win this, not easy_

 _It doesn't matter if he gets a few cuts in here and there_

 _I can keep up, I have to keep up_

 _It doesn't matter if I've gone way passed my limit... damn that limit_

Her lips drew backward in a snarl, ears shoved back against her head and muscles rippling under her ebony pelt as she leapt up and her body weight slammed into him- and her jaw snapped down on his forearm with a sickening _crunch._

She tasted iron on her tongue, felt her fangs pierce flesh and muscle and splinter the bone even- and this time there was a growl of pain from a man who hadn't seemed to feel anything before now. He fell backward, his back ramming into the concrete with her on top of him, her claws digging into his shoulders and body armor and poking through. Her back legs fell on his, pushing down with her front on his chest to pin him further and her jaw still snapped shut around his arm and not about to let go as she moved to pin him entire-

 _S...shit...!_

She didn't manage to pin his other arm fast enough, she saw his hand move upward and she was dazzled slightly by the quick glint of light from the alleyway entrance refracting from the edge of his sword that she saw for a single second before bright, fiery, jolting pain ignited in her core. She felt the tip of the sword break through her skin and muscle, going straight through her body and earning a well of warm, thick blood in seconds. A strangled yelp rose up her throat, her eyes narrowing to slits against the pain and she caught his eyes- and glared.

 _Bet you anything that asshat thought stabbing me was gonna make me let go of his arm_

She clenched her jaw around his arm harder, her teeth sinking in more and his blood more potent on her taste-buds. One paw moved and slammed down on the arm holding aloft the sword, forcing it back and the blade out of her body in quick, painful succession on both their ends.

 _On the contrary-_

She growled, the sound rumbling in her throat as she bit in further and much farther than she usually would on another person- but for him?

 _-you are a new kind of bastard, and stabbing me was a fucking big mistake!_

Spirit moved, her weight lifting off him and her hold on his arm in her teeth tightening ever more as she stepped to the side and lift him up in her jaws with incredible ease. She dragged him by his arm, twisting her body and throwing her head and him around as she slammed him straight into the wall of the building they were next to hard enough to crack the stone a bit. The contact earned a pained yell from the Hero Killer and left him wheezing as he hit the ground and her fangs left his arm- bloodied and bruised and fractured and bleeding profusely still.

Spirit Shifted again, her muzzle elongating and her long body condensing a bit into canine rather than feline- her lips parted in a snarl and tail held high over her back, a looming, heavy-set wolf with jet black fur. She gave him no time to recover from slamming into the wall, she lunged and her teeth aimed for his arm again, but he rolled away and her jaw snapped on empty air. She twisted, following his movement as he pushed himself backwards and away from her, his katana held tightly in hand and leaving a trail of his own blood over the concrete as he stayed at distance from her- the arm she'd bit into pulled into his body and held there.

She kept lunging, following his movement down the alleyway and dodging under the swipe of the sword he sent her way- steadily following him backwards and further from the man he'd come to kill. He jumped toward and on to the fire escape over his head, and Spirit was right behind him, Shifting into an eagle to reach his height with ease. In midair, seconds before his boots slammed down on the platform- Stain's wrist flicked, a dagger in hand as he sent it cutting through the air at speed comparable to his own- and it wasn't thrown at _her_.

Spirit swiveled, her wings curling forward and halting her momentum in the course of a single second. Her head snapped around, following the blade as it passed her by and already knowing where it was headed.

Stain frowned, eyes narrowed to slits and glittering as he jumped toward on to the next section of the firesescape and watched the Hero that could easily cut him off at the roof- turn around in air and dive away from him. Her body was a blur as she arched around and Shifted back into her Human form, landing in a staggered, half crouch as her hands shot up- her body acting a wall between Ingenium and the blade for the second time that day.

 _CLAP_

Her palms snapped together, catching the blade between them and feeling the sting of her skin splitting- but the weapon's path was halted as she stumbled, panting and heaving. Her eyes locked on to the tip of the blade a few inches from her nose, a bead of sweat falling down her face as her foot slid a bit and her posture crumbled that little bit with it- her blood fell from the wound in her side, splattering against the ground at her feet.

Her red eyes moved upward, hearing the thump of the Hero Killer's boots against the grates as he pushed himself up the levels of the fire escape and on to the roof. He paused on the edge, his and Spirit's red gaze matching for a few moments... She could hear her heartbeat, and his harsh breathing with her own... And she could hear Ingenium wheezing behind her, smell his blood heavy on the air.

Stain blinked, eyes narrowed and replacing his sword in it's sheathe on his back, his eyes latched on Animal Spirit for a few seconds more- before he turned his back on her and disappeared from the edge. He left at a brisk pace, leaving drops of blood behind him but not at all afraid of being pursued. One look at her and her expression as she crouched there, his knife in hand and guarding the man he'd cut down- the Hero Killer knew.

She had a choice to make, and he had done enough to make his point. He needn't stay longer,

 _She won't follow_

Spirit growled, her eyes flashing as he disappeared from her view all the way and she lowered her hands, the knife clattering to the ground as she leaned over a bit, one hand finding the concrete to hold herself up while the other moved to cover the stab wound in her side... Which was still bleeding, and hurt like a bitch. She let her knee hit the ground, raising her arm and wiping her sleeve across her mouth and chin to get rid of the blood staining her lips- Stain's blood, before her teeth clamped down on the sturdy fabric and she pulled her arm back. She pulled the sleeve off entirely and straightened up as she tied it around her torso and knotted it over the holes he had put through her- to try and stop the blood flow at least a little. She lingered on that for only a few seconds more before she pushed herself up on to her feet and cleared what little distance there was between herself and the bloody, broken body of Ingenium, who was still where he'd fallen, unmoving and struggling for air as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

Spirit took a knee beside him, her hand searching for the pocket in her suit and grabbing hold of her cell phone, she slammed her thumb against the home button and held it- the screen that had previously been black flared to life and turned red, the ringer sounding as it placed a call through to the Police instantly... Whilst also turning on her GPS location. A quick start and command she had programmed into the phone for emergencies and calling the Police right off instead of being wired through a call center- she was a Hero after all. There were specific numbers Pros were supposed to call in case of things like... Like this

 _Shit shit shit_

She held the phone in one hand to her ear and her other one reached out toward the man, his face pale and his helmet stripped- eyes glazed and glassy and falling constantly as she tried to get him to focus on her, and hers dancing over him and his body taking in the damage and feeling her heart twist.

 _Fucking... Bloody hell...!_

"Dispatch- what's the situation?" The call picked up in seconds,

"This is Animal Spirit, lock on to my GPS location and send a unit of police, and an ambulance _immediately_!" She ordered sharply, "Ingenium is wounded and needs medical attention! Contact any police and Pros in my area and put them on high alert, the Hero Killer is in Hosu! Send whoever is closest to me _right_ away!"

"Y-yes ma'am, I'm sending your location to every Pro and Officer in the vicinity. The unit and ambulance are on their way." The dispatcher replied quickly, "Do you have eyes on Stain-?"

"No, I don't have a visual on him. He is wounded and bleeding, and on the retreat. If he is spotted, no one is to engage him without backup, got it?! Everyone needs to double time and _lock down_ this area!"

"Yes ma'am, I'll inform everyone. Stand by Animal Spirit, reinforcements are on their way."

She growled, turning the speaker on and abandoning her phone on the ground as she gently tilted Ingenium's face toward her.

"Oi, Ingenium..!" She hissed urgently, his eyes fluttered a bit. "Hey, stay awake for me alright? Do _not_ pass out-" she ordered, her eyes breaking from his face as she unwound the last strap from around her leg.

There was blood pooling up from a wound in his abdomen, and one on his thigh- mixed in with countless other injuries that were bad, but the first two were what was making her feel like her heart would give out.

 _Fuck fuck fuck fuck_

She couldn't panic, she couldn't lose her head or her cool and she damned sure _wouldn't_ lose it- she kept herself in line but her heart and her pulse and her emotions didn't want to listen- so she let them rage, but only on the inside.

How long had she even been going to to toe with Stain? She couldn't pin down a time frame, everything was too much a rush and blur and she _hated_ that.

She hated how fast she ran in too, hated how slow she'd been to arrive and how evenly matched she'd been with the Hero Killer for what segment of fighting him had occurred.

She hated she didn't call Dispatch right from the start, especially when she had been running and she _knew_.

 _DAMN IT_

This is what Heroes do right? They rush and they serve and they protect and they stand tall in a tide of evil where all else fail to. They face evils like that bastard and they do it because it is their job and their drive and their will... but _fuck_

Stain was... Everything about him, every inch of his person and his soul and his energy was just so spine-chilling and blood curdling, unrelenting sheer _murder_

In all the rush and the heat of conflict, _that_ had persisted- and with it, so had the terror, and the fear. He scared the _living fuck_ out of her and it was so hard to stay focused and keep her head just fighting the guy. She'd never met anyone who felt so... So dark and imposing and dangerous as he did, not for a very, very long time.

 _Shit I'm shaking_

 _Stop it_

 _Focus for fucks sake, Spirit_

She growled, moving a little as she worked to wind the strap around his leg and stem the blood that was dripping from the wound there- pulling tight on the length of leather and enough it would cut of circulation, and Ingenium didn't react to the pain at all.

 _This is your job, you do it and you do it right... As right as you can_

 _You don't lose it_

"S... Spi..rit..." Ingenium breathed, she blinked, pressing closer and finding his unfocused eyes as she took off her other sleeve and folded it up- both of her arms bare now.

"That's me." She grumbled, biting the inside of her cheek as she set the folded up sleeve against his stomach and over the wound that was producing the pool of blood. She pressed down, hearing the moan and wheezy hiss of pain rise from his throat, but she kept the pressure on regardless.

 _So much blood_

"... Sorry... But you're gonna bleed out if I don't, Ingenium." she apologized softly,

"... Y... You... L... Let him go..." He wheezed, his voice faint and hard to hear. She grimaced, biting her cheek harder. "... Y... You cou...ld... Y..ou could have... Followed... Cap...tured...h...im..." His eyes dropped closed and she stiffened,

"Oi! What did I say about passing out..?!" She snapped quietly,

"... Y...ou... You're... Am...azing... You l...lasted s...so... much longer... You w...were... Y...ou... hit... Him... I...i could...n't... I'm not..." Ingenium mumbled, wispy and weak and she growled. "...y...ou... A...are a muc...h... Better... Pro... T...th...an...me..." He wheezed,

"Don't say that." She grumbled lowly, her eyes glittering and a slight bit... _miffed_. "You're a damn good Pro and don't think otherwise." She growled, her hands still steady on the fabric she was pushing against the wound- it was soaked already, but she didn't care.

"... Y...ou should have... Left... Went af...ter him... Spirit..." He was rambling more so now than he was lucid she was pretty sure... And still he made her even more miffed, damn it.

"And leave you to bleed out?" she shot back lowly, "Yeah, no thanks. You're not beyond help, and that means saving you comes before going after that bloody bastard." Ingenium's eyes opened slightly at that, finding her and fixed for a few seconds. She huffed, her eyes flashing as she growled under her breath. "... Tch... Don't be so quick to give up on living you _idiot_." She snapped lowly, "You've got people, yeah? Friends and a family? Why would you choose to die over seeing them again?"

Ingenium's eyes flashed a little, his expression pulling a bit in pain and thought, before let out a shaky sigh. "... Y...ou... are very... Hard... To get... A b...bead... on... Animal... Spirit..." He mumbled softly, "... You... Sur...prise... Me..."

Spirit faltered a bit at that, her eyes widening and not sure what he meant by the words... like at all.

"... Y... ou're... Noth...ing... Like...I...i...ve... Ass...u...med..." Ingenium mumbled, raspy and harsh.

 _What the hell is that supposed to mean...?_

His words broke off, what little air he breathed in, lost to coughing and she felt his body spasm painfully under her hands.

 _Doesn't matter right now_

"... Just try and breathe easy and slow, Ingenium." Spirit murmured softly as his sputtering quieted, slowly. "Keep your attention on me, alright? That ambulance is going to be here in no time, so don't you dare die on me now, got it?"

 _They need to hurry the hell up_

The minutes ticked by in agonizing slowness as she sat there on her knees beside the fading Engine Hero, what small murmurs and words she said to keep him awake and focused felt useless- but she kept on anyway. Just like she kept her hands pressed firmly against a sleeve soaked in blood and stemming a flow of it what little she could.

Her attention snapped away from him finally and toward the footfalls getting closer, and the sound of people panting. Her body stiffened, posture rigid and defensive out of sheer instinct- even when her mind told her it wasn't a threat.

Two Pros (a man and a woman) rounded the corner into the alleyway from the street, panting and out of breath and faces twisted in worry and apprehension. They'd been sprinting to get to the location pinged by her phone and came upon the alley- only to stop dead in their tracks.

She saw the fear and shock light up in their faces, saw the way they paled and could imagine how violently their stomachs turned at the sight awaiting them- a dark alley littered in blood, smears and pools and drops splashed around and on nearly everything. A tide of crimson that got more frequent the further into the alley you went, and persisted in several places like puddles of red rainwater... And then you reached the middle and found the broken mass of blood and shattered armor of Ingenium lying motionless on the alley floor with Animal Spirit and her blood soaked hands pressed against a wound that did not want to stop bleeding.

It was a sight that would turn anyone

Spirit didn't recognize the two of them, which was not a surprise- like she said before all of this... All of Japan's most popular Heroes were at UA and the lesser-known (and usually younger) Pros were left to pick up Patrols. And as it was, Hosu was not her regular District to start with- not that it mattered who they were.

"Do either of you have a Tracking Quirk?" Spirit snapped quickly, her harsh tone breaking them from their stupor and their eyes locked on to her. They started forward together, moving down the alley quickly and drawing up beside her and Ingenium.

"N-no.." the man stammered, light bounced from the helmet on his head and the woman beside him shook hers stiffly.

"No ma'am." She breathed, Spirit growled internally, her head tilting in the opposite end of the alley and hearing more feet.

"Which of you has the best mobility, and can keep up with me over buildings?" Spirit asked next, hardly pausing a beat as the two Pros blinked.

"M-me, Animal Spirit." The woman said, gaining a bit of composure as the No. 26 nodded.

"Fine, you-" Spirit ordered, her eyes falling on the man, who snapped to attention. "-come here and put pressure on this and keep it. Keep Ingenium awake and focused on you, and wait for the ambulance to arrive."

"Yes, o-of course!" He replied quickly, dropping to his knees and grimacing as his hands switched places with hers- and instantly grew sticky with blood. Spirit pushed herself back and on to her feet with a hiss, her red eyes moving toward the next figure to enter the alley- and one she recognized.

"Rock Lock! Stay here with them and wait for backup, cordon off this area!" Spirit ordered of the man to suddenly arrive in the alley, and who jumped a little at being snapped at the second he appeared. Spirit's hand gestured toward the younger man beside Ingenium as she said her piece, and Rock Lock faltered a second but she didn't care. She turned toward the other woman, who was dressed in an outfit of icy blue and had a visor over one eye. Spirit gestured toward her, "Stay close to me, we're going to see if we can lock down Stain's location again." Spirit growled, the younger stiffened at the name, fear flashing in her gaze. But the woman shook her head at herself, determination trickling in instead as she nodded firmly.

"Yes, I'm right behind you..!" She said quickly, Spirit nodded and started forward. Her body got engulfed in a black-red haze and she jumped, her wings extending and meeting air as she Shifted into an eagle and moved to the top of the building Stain had disappeared on. The other woman followed closely, little orbs of pale blue appearing in air in succession as she jumped on to them and got launched to the next one like a trampoline- her Quirk, for what little Spirit payed attention to or saw of it.

Spirit Shifted again and landed on her paws as a bobcat on the roof, her eyes and nose trained to the dribbles of blood the Hero Killer had left behind.

 _He can't have gotten far..._

A jolt of pain ran through her side with every step, one ear always angled back and keeping track of where the other woman following her was. Spirit wove around heating ducks and leapt across the gaps between the close knit buildings at a steady, brisk pace and kept it up. She balanced on edges and jumped between walkways with agility owed to both beast and her own years of training. Taking in every event and sight, everything smear of blood and small, almost imperceptible drop scattered in a path nearly invisible to the eye- but not to her nose.

 _... But that guy is fucking fast_

She and the other woman drew steadily further from that alleyway riddled with blood, moving between different levels and rooftops until the trail of blood ended in a pile of bloodied, dirty rags. Spirit halted in her movement, breathing fast and stooping as she sniffed at the rags and the woman behind her paused, green eyes glittering and puffing slightly.

"... The bloods stopped..." The woman mumbled, "... but it lasted all the way out here, how was he able to get this far if he was injured? It must not have been bad..."

"Jaguars have a bite strength of 1800 pounds." Spirit grumbled lowly, the woman stiffened. "I bit him, it was enough to crack the bone, it was bad, but it was on the arm. His legs are fine..." She growled a little. "... Besides, he didn't really seem to feel much pain to begin with..." She added lowly, her head tilting back up as her mouth dropped and she let the air wash in over her senses. "Come on." Spirit ordered lowly, her paws bringing her forward and continuing to follow his scent... His scent that smelled like hundreds of different, sour, acrid bloods mixed together.

 _He got a lot farther than he should have... Fuck me._

She kept going, both of them still moving between buildings and over them at a fast pace and not caring how far they got from the original location. She kept following that scent and ignoring the ache of her muscles and her core and the stinging, throbbing moving through her side, and from the cuts littering her body. Her pads hit the metal surface of the top of a water tower, her movement halting again as she paused- the wind washing out over her and slicking her fur back... But the scent went from existence to nothing in about two seconds.

 _What the..?_

Her head tilted, mouth open and sucking in deep breaths of air- but the longer she looked for it the more it faded... _Nothing_

 _Shit_

 _How does a scent just disappear like that? Its like_ ** _he_** _disappeared entirely... People don't just disappear_

"What's wrong...?" The woman (still haven't caught her name, not that there was much time...) asked breathlessly, her feet hitting the metal beam work of the water tower and propping herself between them as she glanced upward at the No. 26.

"... The scent disappeared..." Spirit mumbled, pacing along the edge of the tower and still searching. "... Completely gone... Like he dropped off the planet at this spot..."

"... How is that possible?" The woman mumbled, Spirit's ears twitched.

"... Someone's Quirk, if I had to guess... Someone else." Spirit grumbled, her ears falling back against her head as she dug her claws into the metal. Her body wavered, her figure distorting at the edges and jittering before she was swallowed up in a cloud, and the bobcat was replaced with a bat, her wings propping her upward, leaning slightly. Her ears swiveled, her eyes dropping closed against the harshness of the light and her attention falling on every little noise, every sound of football and breath, the rustle of wind on paper and fabric, the roll of a car and the hum of sirens and police chatter... every little sound so easy to hear, given bats were the one mammal on earth with the best hearing.

She heard it all, but not the sound of heavy boots or the shift of armor. Not the sound of a sword or the ruffle of a scarf... Nothing, _again_

Her body wavered, blurred and fragmenting at the edges as she Shifted back into her human form and bits and pieces of black energy like glass falling from her as she crouched, her hands on the metal underfoot between her knees. Her red eyes trailed over the city and the buildings all glittering in the sunlight that had grown so much stronger... but that alleyway was so dark you would never have known. There was the wailing, ringing sound of police cars and ambulances bouncing off the buildings and through the streets below somewhere she couldn't see from where she was. For the first time in what felt like years the pounding of her own heart and the roar of blood in her ears weren't deafening... For the first time in too long a time, a lull came in and a small, little fraction of panic and fear and adrenaline subsided, and the world started to feel like it was slowly falling on top of her head.

"... Shit..." She hissed under her breath,

"... he's gone, isn't he..?" The other Pro asked quietly, easily hopping up and placing herself on the top of the tower near to where Spirit was- who's head tilted her way slightly, but Spirit's eyes had dropped closed by now.

"... I can do a flyover, but..." Spirit grumbled, shaking her head at herself.

"... the buildings are too close together to really see anything in the part of Hosu... and if he's smart, he won't be out in the open." The other woman mumbled, Spirit nodded stiffly in agreement.

"... _damn_ it." Spirit hissed under her breath, her red eyes flashing in anger, the other Pro stiffened a bit. Spirit didn't notice the reaction, her head tilted down as she brushed her cheek along her upperarm- smearing the blood dribbling from a cut on the left side of her cheek and leaving her arm stained more red than it already was.

 _This... today... just... shit_

"... I never caught your name." Spirit mumbled, casting the comment up toward the woman, who jumped in surprise at suddenly being asked, nervous.

"O-oh, it's Recoil." The woman stammered quickly, Spirit nodded.

"Do you have your phone on you?" Spirit asked next,

"Yes ma'am."

"Good, call Dispatch and tell them to ping this location. Tell them it's where Stain's trail has lead and ended, and to set up a perimeter. They need to call a Pro with a Tracking Quirk and set them to search... tell them that no one is to go anywhere around here without someone to watch their back." Spirit instructed slowly, "Even if Stain is wounded, he's dangerous. No one takes any chances or rushes in without a plan... I doubt Stain will let himself be found for a few days at a least after this, but we can still look."

Recoil nodded, her hand raising up to her visor as she clicked a button on the side. "You got it." She murmured, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek as she slowly pushed herself into standing up straight, her feet faltering a bit as she swayed. Recoil noticed the bit of imbalance and her hands shot forward to grab Animal Spirit's arm, steadying her, though unnecessarily since Spirit caught herself after a second. Spirit's eyes shifted sideways in time to see that Recoil's gaze had found the sleeve tied around her torso and the blood dripping through it slowly, her face paling a bit at the sight.

"Animal Spirit, y-you're wounded..!" She stammered, Spirit shook her head a bit.

"Don't worry about it." Spirit grumbled,

"Y... this is... you got _stabbed_ , that's serious...!" Recoil argued, Spirit's eyes flashed.

"He didn't hit anything important." Spirit muttered, Recoil flinched at how low the No. 26's voice got when she said that.

 _Of course not... because I wasn't the one he was after. He wasn't even looking to fight me to start with... he could have killed me in that instant I had him pinned, and he didn't._ _He ran his sword through me and avoided any major organs... he did it on purpose. A guy like that doesn't just miss._

 _... Shit..._

"I'm still calling for another ambulance...!" Recoil snapped, Spirit sighed.

"Fine, but don't forget to relay what I said." She grumbled, Recoil hesitated, before nodding. "-and tell them that we'll meet the police and the other Pros back at the original location." Spirit murmured, Recoil nodded in agreement before the words fully registered, and she rounded on Spirit to argue- but Spirit had jumped down from the water tower and on to the roof.

The impact of her feet on the roof sent a jolt running through her that made her hiss, and she walked forward a few paces that were uneven before correcting again. Her eyes fell on her hands and the red smeared across them and halfway up her bare arms... her blood, some of it- but a lot of it was...

There was an icy cold lump in her stomach that made her feel sick

The urgent words recanted by Recoil to Dispatch above her was a low drone she didn't care about, she just stood there, her eyes narrowed and tracing the crimson stains.

 _... all of that... rushing in... fighting... Shifting so many times... all of it... all of that and he got away._

 _Damn it... damn me_


	6. Chapter 6- Hero

**Chapter 6**

 **Hero**

 **.:+:.**

 _She'd made a lot of mistakes in her life. Many of them she justified, and many of the she regretted... many of them she just tried to reason with herself._

 _Do what you can, the best that you can_

 _Sometimes it wasn't always enough_

 **.:+:.**

"... The ambulance took Ingenium to the hospital already?"

Rock Lock jumped a little in surprise at the sudden question and voice in an alleyway that was nothing less than grim, and all other noises somehow dimmed for it. He'd been standing at a halfway point between the entrance of the alley (and the barricade the Police had set up), and the middle of it where a multitude of police were picking up bits of metal and DNA- evidence, and the bulk of it was blood. There was by now a line of onlookers and media personnel stuck behind the barricade, with a line of officers planted firmly in their way and doing their best to keep the crowd from getting a good view of what was going on... And what a horrific mess the place was.

Like Rock Lock, the Police and a few other Pros had rushed here after a short, urgent summons- the Hero Killer was in Hosu and Animal Spirit and Ingenium had faced him... And got cut down, in Ingenium's case. And in Animal Spirit's?

The Ebony Hero had rushed off to track Stain down again after he and two other Pros had arrived... And now from the chatter he picked up from the Police, Animal Spirit had lost Stain altogether.

 _This is a mess_

Rock Lock's eyes moved quickly toward the source as he turned to find the lean figure of Animal Spirit walking in his direction, slowly. The man's eyes danced across her person in quick succession- he hadn't much time earlier to take in her appearance, seeing as how she ran off near the instant he arrived... And now he really saw what a _mess_ she was.

Her sleeves were off her arms and her skin and hands were smothered in sticky red all over, a same red that trickled from one cut across her arm, her leg, on both hands, and one on her cheek. Her hair was falling from the ponytail in several places, and her suit and fishnets had little tears and the like, and she had lost the straps usually wound around her thighs. Her knuckles were bruised and she was dirty, but the bulk of the grime came from her hands- and the thick covering of blood on her side and over her abdomen. His eyes found the sleeve she had tied around her torso, and the bits of torn flesh poking through underneath it... A hit that went _through_ her.

But somehow even despite all of that, she didn't seem fazed by her appearance nor even really like she felt it- not pain nor exhaustion, nothing. She placed herself in front of him and stood tall and steady, and her expression was just calm and collected and neutral. Somehow she went up against the Hero Killer and didn't get herself killed, or wounded to the point she couldn't move. She'd run off and moved over buildings for no small distance afterward, and come all the way back like it wasn't hard... She was in much better shape than anyone should have been, or ever _had_ been when they confronted Stain.

No one had ever just... Walked away, _ever_. Now if that was credit to her skills as the No. 26 or just luck, well- who could tell?

Well, actually-

"... They rushed him off about ten minutes ago." Rock Lock mumbled, Spirit nodded. The Pro- Recoil- who had followed Spirit off earlier, made a reappearance along with the No. 26, her eyes flashing and fidgeting as she stuck a few steps to the side of Spirit. He quirked a brow at her, arms crossing over his chest and grimacing. "It looks like they should have taken you too." He commented dryly, Spirit blinked.

"I'm fine, let them worry about other things for now." Spirit grumbled, and Recoil beside her glared slightly, exasperated.

"There is still an ambulance on the way for you." Recoil reminded lowly,

"I'm aware." Spirit muttered, "But I don't need to be rushed off to a hospital. None of my injuries are that serious."

"Even still...!" Recoil snapped,

"I'm fine with getting looked over when they get here, but I don't need to be treated like I'm in critical condition." Spirit mumbled, "... I appreciate the concern, but I am by no means top priority right now." Rock Lock and Recoil both frowned at the words,

 _What a low level of self-worth_

"Animal Spirit... If you really feel up to it, we do need to square away what happened."

The Police Chief of Hosu (who had apparently been listening in) walked up to their small group and paused, his face pulled and posture tense. He was dressed in a suit as opposed to a uniform- he probably didn't really go out in the field too much, but this was a situation that called for it. Stain had slain 17 Heroes and injured 23 others beyond repair... And as grim and even pessimistic a thought it was, today one of those counts was likely to go up, pending what became of Ingenium. It was probably a small mercy Animal Spirit wasn't at risk of entering that count too.

"... This is a difficult situation and I imagine you did everything you could, and to the best of your ability... It's disconcerting to know Stain could injure a top Hero like Ingenium so critically, and even ward you off and escape." The Chief murmured quietly, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek. His head tilted to some place behind her and she blinked, "There is a security camera centered on this alleyway attached to one of the warehouses, we've contacted the company who owns the building to confiscate any footage it has of the event."

Spirit glanced over her shoulder a bit, her red eyes flashing as she glanced up and caught sight of said camera bolted to one of the buildings and above a door in the wall that looked like it hadn't been opened in ages... The hinges were rusted and the door handle didn't look unusable.

 _I didn't even realize..._

 _... Of course not, you rushed in without thinking_

"We'll review whatever the video has to offer, but could you please walk us through just what happened?" The Chief went on, earning Spirit's eyes again as she nodded a bit.

"Yeah." She murmured, "I can tell you what happened when I got here... But when I arrived Stain had already fought with Ingenium and took him down."

She hated the way her voice tensed at the end, and she saw the posture of everyone else around her stiffen.

Her eyes fell from the Police Chief and toward the section of concrete in the middle of the alley that held the largest pool of blood.

"... I got here, and first thing I saw... Stain was about to kill Ingenium."

 _Shit_

 **.:+:.**

 _He let me live_

She'd recanted her side of the story- smelling blood and rushing in, guarding a downed Hero and standing in the way of a Hero Killer... Alone and nearly outmatched by Stain in every way possible and fighting like hell and with everything she had against him. Pushing herself through a weight of evil and murder and the want to freeze and panic... Pushing herself far passed her mental limit and her physical one. (That part she didn't say out loud, by the way, she'd never, ever admit to that... Any of that, unless it was absolutely necessary)

She recanted what needed to be known about the fight- what had earned her her wounds and she saw the shock on their faces as they listened. She avoided what she could of Stain's Quirk and her ability to bypass it... She gave them something general about different blood types among different animals and let it be at that.

She kept on talking until the story drew to it's close- and then paused only a little, on the last thing.

"I had to make a choice on whether or not to follow him, or call backup instead." Spirit murmured lowly, "I decided I needed to contact the Police first and get an ambulance out here, and that that was the priority over pursuing Stain right off the bat. As soon as help arrived I moved to track him again... it's just interference from someone else's Quirk the I lost the scent, as far as I can guess." To this she earned a grim nod from the Police Chief, his hands in his pockets and quiet for most of the story- everyone was, who was listening in.

"I understand the decision... And it was probably the best option of any." The Chief mumbled, "This was a complicated situation, and you handled it as well you could... I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less of the No. 26 Hero."

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes flashing slightly.

"For now we have a team of Heroes with Tracking Quirks trying to find Stain's trail again, and the Police unit here will keep the crime scene contained and clean everything up. We'll have to make a formal statement to the Press about this too..." he grumbled, looking worn. "... You probably ought to get yourself looked over, Animal Spirit. We have everything handled from here, thank you for what you did. You've probably saved Ingeniun's life... And you've proven the Hero Killer is not untouchable. The fact you managed to hold him off and even wound him will help to boost moral about this, at least a little."

 _I didn't prove a damn thing_

She kept her mouth shut though, and just nodded. "Let me know if you need anything else." Spirit mumbled, he smiled softly.

"Thank you, but you should worry about yourself for right now." The Cheif told her quietly,

"He's right, you've held off on seeing the paramedics long enough." Recoil mumbled,

"Here's your phone, kid." Rock Lock mumbled, handing over said phone as Spirit grimaced.

"Don't call me kid." She grumbled lowly, he just blinked, and she took her phone from him. "I'm not that much younger than you."

"Young enough." He grumbled, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek harder, a bit irked at that- but she just dropped it. She shook her head at him and waved a hand dismissively over her shoulder as she walked away and toward where the ambulance had stopped and had been waiting patiently- Recoil followed Spirit in that direction but lagged slightly.

 _... She seems like she's hovering..._

The paramedics moved up to meet her halfway, fidgeting and on edge and clearly having been struggling to keep themselves in place while she'd been busy talking. "Please take a seat, Animal Spirit..!" The first one murmured quickly, a man with a more bovine appearance than a human one. The other one was another man, but he looked normal enough, and his dirty russet hair glowed slightly in the dim blue and red lights flashing. Recoil slowed up and halted herself as Animal Spirit fell into the hands of the paramedics, her green eyes lingering on the No. 26. She waited a few moments before turning back and joining up with the other Pro she had arrived with.

The view of the alleyway was mostly blocked by barricades, police cars and police themselves- and the ambulance blocked it pretty well too... But she saw the onlookers craning to catch a glimpse of her as the first paramedic grabbed her arm lightly and (sort of) lead her to the open back doors of the ambulance and ordered her to sit down. And she did so, his hand leaving her arm as she let out a small sigh, tilting slightly as lift her right arm up a bit and Mr. Moo-

 _... wow that's probably really offensive Spirit... Noooot that I have the energy to care right now..._

\- started to look over the wound in her side and the sleeve she had tied around her torso to staunch the bleeding. Redhead dude asked for her other arm and she gave it- and he set up an (unnecessary, as she felt) IV line.

"... Pressure low, heart rate elevated..." Redhead mumbled quietly, his hands working away as he checked her vitals. "... Temperature a bit high... Are you feeling dizzy at all?" He asked, Spirit shook her head.

"Not particularly." She mumbled, he nodded a bit.

"... I won't try and remove the sleeve, I don't want to cause more bleeding. For now I'm going to bandage it." Mr. Moo grumbled after a few moments of thought, "The wound goes straight through you... I doubt it hit anything major but you run the risk of internal damage with a puncture wound, especially one this large. You look like you've already lost a good amount of blood from this wound alone, and not counting the others..." He paused, grimacing. "... You're going to need to go to the hospital. We'll put some more pressure on to try and staunch the bleeding all the way, but you're going to need stitches, and a more thorough examination to make sure there's no serious damage internally. You might even need a transfusion, pending how much blood you've actually lost and might lose by the time we manage to close the wound." Mr. Moo said quickly and quietly, his tone serious and straight to the point- and Spirit grimaced a bit. "The rest of your injuries are comparatively minor, but they need to be treated too." Mr. Moo's eyes moved toward Redhead. "You said her temperature was high?"

"Yea, 99.6° F." Redhead mumbled,

"Alright, you'll probably be given a course of antibiotics in case of any infection from the injuries." Mr. Moo told her, he tilted his head to Redhead. "I'll help you to settle on to the gurney, and head to the hospital. Kuho will radio ahead and tell the ER to expect us."

"I really don't need to be wheeled in-" Spirit muttered, he raised a hand and stopped her.

"You've been moving too much already, you move the wrong way and tear something- you really will bleed out." Mr. Moo told her lowly, "I understand you're not feeling faint or anything, but we should try and be cautious, alright?"

"... Tch... Fine, but don't you dare strap me to that damn thing." Spirit muttered lowly, he smiled nervously.

"I won't, but do let me help you up and into the vehicle." he told her, Redhead had by now moved to 'radio ahead'. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek but relented anyway, taking his hand as he helped her up and into the vehicle and stayed close as she settled down on the stretcher. He sat down across from her and adjusted and fluid bag attached by a tube and line into the IV stick in her arm. Spirit settled back a bit against the raised back, her hand falling lightly on her knee and watching him from the corner of her eye. He pushed something else into the line and she guessed it was a painkiller- given the throb in her body dulled a bit.

Redhead reappeared briefly to flag down an Officer and let him know they planned to leave, before he shut the back doors and cut off all view she had of that bloody alleyway.

 _I don't wanna go to the hospital... But shit_

"What's your blood type? And is there any preexisting medical issues we should be aware of?" Mr. Moo asked, Spirit's head tilted his way a bit as her eyes stayed fixed on the darkened window.

"... O negative." She mumbled, he nodded and typed it into a small console set up in the car. "... And nothing important... just that if I start running a fever, it's got more to do with overextending my Quirk than it does with any sort of infection." He paused, glancing toward her in question and intrigue- and still her eyes were on the window. "... I went way passed the Limit I set for myself fighting Stain. Using my Quirk too much in a short time-frame is a huge strain, and when I overdo it, I usually end up running a fever and feeling like hell for a few hours or a day afterward... It's nothing serious though, just overexertion. A little sleep and I'm fine."

 _Well, sleep and the other, not at all fun bit..._

Mr. Moo nodded in understanding, typing away for a few moments. "... Alright, I made a note of that. I'm going to bandage that wound for now, to stem the bleeding a bit more. Could you please lean forward a bit?" He asked, gathering up supplies in his hands and Spirit complied. She was sitting slightly crosslegged on top of the stretcher, and she leaned forward as he set to work binding the wound in numerous lengths of bandages and gauze- which soaked through slightly almost right away, but never more than slightly.

Spirit's chin fell in her hand as she set her elbow down on her knee, the ambulance started to move off and the alleyway through the window was replaced with the crowd. Many of which craned their necks trying to see inside as the vehicle passed them by.

"We'll be at the hospital in a few minutes, Animal Spirit." Mr. Moo told her as he pulled up the screen and console again, she nodded but didn't say anything.

"... Ingenium was admitted into emergency surgery when he arrived at the hospital." Mr. Moo said after a few moments, Spirit stiffened a little. "He lost a lot of blood and his injuries were severe... But they are doing what they can. I'm sorry I don't know much else other than that."

Spirit grimaced, her eyes falling slightly. "... Its fine... Thank you for telling me."

"Of course."

She pulled her phone up, the lock screen already flooded with a variety of notifications and most of them all rumors about an 'incident in Hosu, possible Hero Killer sighting' where they weren't something about the UA Sports Festival... She cleared all of those and went down the list until she hit something different- a text message.

 _From: Death Arms_  
 _You're late, where are you?_

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes flashing slightly as her attention flickered from the words and toward the clock.

 _It's already 9:40... I've been late for over an hour and a half._

 _Damn it... The way things are going I'm not going to get to UA for a long while... If at all_

 _... What... Do I even do... After this...? Do I stay and help and try to find Stain again...? Is there any point...?_

 _He's not going to let himself be found so soon, not after all of this shit... I doubt anyone is gonna find him either, Tracking Quirk or not..._

 _... 'Where are you'?_

Her eyes dropped and her hand with her phone in it did too.

 _... I'm in an ambulance... On the way to the hospital after going head to head with the Hero Killer... Who let me live... Even when he tried what he could to kill Ingenium... And I won't text that because you're busy, and I need to... Just settle a bit, before I do anything._

 _I'm still on an adrenaline high, it's not faded hardly at all... That's why I'm not dizzy, and why I wasn't feeling much pain... And if I talk to you now, I'm not going to be okay_

 _... I'm not okay... Damn it..._

 **.:+:.**

 _Three hours later-_

"... Animal Spirit totally ditched us." Mount Lady grumbled, her hands on her hips and bored as bored can be. Around her stood a multitude of other Pros and a barricade that held back onlookers and spectators- the Pros all dressed up in their uniforms and all of them with a lanyard and an ID card around their necks.

There were large screens set up all around and attached to the side of the Arena itself, broadcasting the Sports Festival for them, and for the people who couldn't get in.

"Don't say that." Kamui Woods mumbled, his attention briefly darting from his phone and toward her. Mount Lady cocked a hip, huffing slightly.

"Seriously, everyone working Security was supposed to be here _before_ the Event started. She wasn't- and now we're already more than halfway through the Individual Battles, and she still hasn't showed up. The Sports Festival is gonna be over and done with and she'll never have made an appearance." Mount Lady grumbled, "I suppose I'm not surprised though, why the No. 26 Hero was going to be working Security instead of scouting for internships is beyond me- she probably ditched us to go inside and watch."

"If Animal Spirit agreed to work Security she wouldn't just blow it off." Kamui grumbled,

"And how would you know? You've never met her, she could be a total prude and you wouldn't have any clue." Mount Lady replied,

"She's an honorable Hero, and she isn't the sort that would do something so underhanded." Kamui grumbled, "... She's not the sort to trample others to get her way or better her odds either..." He muttered lowly, Mount Lady's eye twitched at what was a comment clearly about her.

"This was a job, Spirit wouldn't miss it over some little thing... And especially not to watch the Sports Festival. She has no interest in scouting... She had every intention of being here today to work." Death Arms' low grumble caught the attention of Mount Lady and Kamui with ease, their eyes moving toward the large man and what tense and serious expression he wore. "She's not been answering her phone either, and that's not like her. If she's not here and she's not picking up... Something must have happened."

"... You have her number?" Mount Lady mumbled, "... So that's who you been dialing up all morning. What are you, lovers or something?"

"High school friends." Was the curt reply, Mount Lady blinked and Kamui did too in clear surprise- however the latter got sidetracked when his phone dinged in his hand- a few others around the room did too, though no one noticed the coincidence.

"... Okay, so you say something must have happened- what then?" Mount Lady murmured, her arms crossing over her chest.

"I haven't a clue." Death Arms muttered lowly, looking less than pleased and even a bit worried- which was unlike him.

"Well it can't have been something big right? We'd have heard something by now, and it's not like she's the No. 26 for nothing. She can handle herself, right?" Mount Lady mumbled, waving a hand dismissively. "For all you know she slept in on accident. She does work those god-awful hours that nobody likes taking." She sighed, "Besides, she could very well have tried calling you back and the call didn't go through- there's thousands of people here, reception is crappy at best." Death Arms' eyes narrowed at the floor, his arms over his chest and grimacing.

"... Maybe..." He mumbled lowly,

Mount Lady's eyes moved from him and toward the big screens, "The last battle is about to start." She murmured, sighing a bit to herself. "Those two kids are something else..."

"D-Death Arms..!"

Both Death Arms and Mount Lady jumped at the sudden frantic and tense voice of Kamui Woods- who broke his few minutes of silence out of nowhere. He was fidgeting, his expression one of shock and slight fear as he stepped up toward the larger man quickly and gestured toward his phone in hand violently.

"I-i just got sent the link to this video, it's Animal Spirit..!" Kamui stammered quickly, handing his phone over toward Death Arms as Mount Lady pulled herself up to his shoulder to get a good view of the device.

Both Mount Lady and Death Arms went rigid, their eyes widening as they watched the screen and the video playing on its face- a high angle and lower quality than a professional camera... Security footage, but it was quality enough they saw the red and they saw the blade, and the three figures in the alley- where only two were moving.

"Shit..." Mount Lady mumbled, looking slightly repulsed. Death Arms was nothing but a silent and unmoving figure, his hold on the phone tight and his eyes locked.

"... That's bad...!"

"Is she okay...?!"

More and more people were going stiff around the area, their eyes turning from the big screens and toward their own phones and devices. Pro and citizen and news person alike all standing and muttering among themselves in shock and fear as the video that Kumui had rushed to show Death Arms started to circulate around the area- scared and intrigued and repulsed all at once as they saw the blood and the sweat and the conflict and the _violence_.

"W-what about Ingenium...?!"

"Is he even...?!"

"Oh my god..."

"... T..this is..."

"Where did this video come from...?"

"Is this for real..? Like not just some prank or something...?"

"... It... It looks like security footage... And its dated for four hours ago, why is this the first thing we're seeing...?!"

"She... Animal Spirit and... S-stain..."

"Shit... That guy's fucking... Terrifying...!"

"... Is he seriously going head to head with the No. 26...?!"

"W-who put this video up...?"

News reporters and their teams were shifting, their phones ringing as their managers and stations began to call them.

"Y-yeah I'm watching... There wasn't anything else about it before now...?"

"... Shit, smaller stations have been reporting about an incident in Hosu but the Police haven't given out a formal statement yet-"

"-there've been sightings of Heroes with Tracking Quirks in Hosu."

"They've got the area and the alley cordoned off tight and haven't let anyone in, there's a lot of evidence to collect..."

"-any word on Ingenium or Animal Spirit?"

"How long has this video been live-? Already an _hour_...?!"

"How haven't we seen this yet...?!"

"It's starting to gain rapid momentum..."

"It's going viral...!"

Death Arms and Mount Lady both flinched as the image of Animal Spirit and Stain interlocked- with the Pro pinning the Hero Killer for a few seconds before he ran his sword straight through her. Death Arms paled slightly and so did a few of the people around them who had gotten to that part of the video. Mount Lady's hand moved up to clap softly over her mouth as her eyes flashed at the view- Kamui just grimaced, he'd already skimped through the video and seen it before rushing to hand it off.

"-yes sir, guys! Pack it up, we're headed to Hosu General Hospital!"

"But the Sports Festival ain't over yet-!"

"Doesn't matter, we gotta beat the rush to the Hospital about this Stain incident!"

"Does anybody have any confirmation on Animal Spirit?"

"Witnesses in Hosu say they saw her get taken away in an ambulance!"

"And what about Ingenium?"

"Him too! They rushed him out, sirens and everything!"

"They're both injured, but how badly-?"

"-w-whoa wait a minute! Animal Spirit looks like she's got Stain on the run even after he stabbed her!"

"She totally does, do you see that? How she bit his arm? He's bleeding good!"

"She had him scared, she was _gaining_ on him-!"

"W-WHAT?! SHE LET HIM GO?!"

"Why would she...!?"

"No, she wouldn't just let someone like that get away...!"

"You saw it! She had him and she totally let him get away!"

"But it looks like she diverted to guard Ingenium..."

Death Arms gave Kamui his phone back and grabbed his own from his pocket, grimacing as he unlocked it and started stalking away toward the edge of the space between the stadium and the crowd, distancing himself from them and from the other Pros working security.

He dialed up the first number and brought the phone up to his ear, grumbling to himself as the ringer went on and waiting on the last ditch attempt to get her to pick up before he left UA altogether.

 _Pick up Spirit_

 _..._

 _..._

 _Pick up, you had damn well better not be-_

 _..._

 _..._

 _Shit_

His hand started to fall from his ear, the other lifting and ready to call a cab-

"... Mm... I take it you saw the video... I'm gonna hunt down and maul whatever security guard asshat... decided posting that was a great idea..."

His movement and his body halted at the groggy yet familiar voice that filtered through the speaker quietly. His heart skipped a beat, instinctively turning his back on everyone else as much as he could and bowing his head a bit as he lowered his voice.

"Are you alright?" He asked quickly, "The news people are saying you were taken to the hospital. The Hero Killer _stabbed_ you-"

"Yeah, I'm fine... And... yeah he stabbed me... but he didn't hit anything important. They took me to the hospital to get stitched up... and looked after for a bit... Sorry... I saw you texted me, but I got distracted when we got here... and they did their thing and fixed me up... I nodded off for a few hours without meaning to... I guess I wasted a lot more energy than a realized... And lost more blood..."

"... are you sure you're 'fine'?" He asked lowly,

"... Yeah... Mostly... I rushed in and started using my Quirk left and right like an idiot though... So I hate myself..." Spirit sighed on the other end, her voice weary. "... The doctor says I'm fine, I'll just have to take a few days off to let the stitches do their thing... Which sucks... But I was in the boat of staying home for a bit even without getting stabbed... It'll just suck worse now, probably... But they gave me some fancy painkillers so maybe it won't be so bad..." She grumbled, "... Though honestly I think I might forgo the meds and just... Have a drink instead..." Death Arms paused, his eyes narrowed.

"You don't drink, Spirit." He murmured,

"Yeah well... Today I think I do." Was the soft answer, he grimaced at it. "... That's my not so subtle way of asking if you'd come with me to get said drink... By the way... and preferably soon... Before I end up getting to the point of being stuck in my house... And wanting to die..." She paused on the other end for a few seconds. "... The doctor probably won't be so willing to let me leave if I start that in his eyeline..."

"You can stay with me if you need to, Spirit." Death Arms told her softly,

"... Appreciated, but I'll be okay... Just come have a drink with me, and let me rant for a bit before I go home... Kay...?" Spirit sighed, and the large man seemed to deflate a bit.

"... I'll get a cab and head over." he murmured,

"... Ah, don't bother with that, there's already one headed your way." Spirit said quickly, Death Arms blinked in surprise. "... Courtesy of a creepy government agency guy..."

He would have asked what she meant- but he didn't, because he was sure to hear the story from her view soon enough, and he wouldn't be surprised to know someone from a higher branch than just the police had made an appearance in all of this.

"... Alright."

 **.:+:.**

"... Considering the fact I just heard you threaten to maul someone, you might want to keep from insulting me."

Spirit grimaced, her hand moved from her ear and her phone with it as she shot the owner of the voice- and said 'creepy government agency guy'- a small glare. She was sitting cross legged on a hospital bed in an empty room beside herself and him- her Hero Uniform by now having been abandoned and replaced with hospital clothes since she was officially admitted and had _technically_ undergone some sort of surgery- what with being stabbed and all. She'd fallen asleep sometime between the latter end of having the stitches put in, and waking up half an hour ago to find her newsfeed on her phone littered with two things;

The UA Sports Festival and a video of very much leaked Security Footage from the alley she and Stain had fought in, and in particular a video with the title:

 _ANIMAL SPIRIT LETS THE HERO KILLER ESCAPE! REAL- NOT A PRANK- AUTHENTIC!_

 _Damn it_

"Such comments can be seen as unruly behavior on your part, adding fuel to the fire given life after how you bit into the Hero Killer hard enough to break bone. And them promptly swung him by said arm, to slam into a wall. That much force and momentum might have been enough to tear his arm off." The man went on, his tone nothing but neutral at all times- it always was. And to make it worse, his face was unreadable too. Him and his tall, lanky stature and cleanly pressed suit and tie- paired with proper shoes and a trenchcoat over that... Clean and proper all the way down to his cleanly but black hair and dead grey eyes in a face that had such a small and flat nose he seemed almost noseless. He gave her that dead stare and stood there at the edge of the bed with his hands in his coat pockets, "That was quite violent of you." He added, she growled.

"Sue me for being a little rough with the guy who stabbed me ten seconds beforehand." Spirit muttered lowly, "Any Pro who could manage it would beat the hell out of Stain at this point, and I doubt all of you are gonna get on their case about it-"

"Your situation is drastically different however." He cut her off with ease, "Though despite that- you could have handled the Hero Killer in a much different way, and though illegal as it is- you'd likely not receive much hate for it. He has killed a great many, and injured more... Harsh punishment is not unexpected." He added, "You refrained from handling the situation in a way that would land you in true trouble, though. And though you were harsh, you were also rational and you did manage to not only save the one the Hero Killer had come for, but also drive Stain back and injure him where no one else has ever managed to. All in all you handled the situation admirably."

"... Tch...if I'm not actually in trouble, then why are you here, Dante?" Spirit growled, and the man blinked at his name... Or at least it was the name she'd been given. The authenticity of it was always in question,

"It's been a number of years since we spoke face to face, this event with the Hero Killer has provided an apt excuse to check up on you again." Was the simple reply, his hand lift from his pocket as he extended his index and middle finger together, and drew them out in air in a circle shape that left a thin haze of white in it's quake- his Quirk. Which subsequently, the walls all around the room in a perimeter were painted across by that same light in sequence as he painted the air. It was a familiar sight, and Spirit stiffened at it,

"I'd already reviewed the security footage before it was unleashed upon the internet without authority." He said simply, his hand falling back into his pocket. "And I had already come to the conclusion that you acted accordingly, and appropriately. So yes, you are not in trouble... Expected maybe, given your track record. You've proven yourself much less a risk than most I monitor." His eyes dropped closed, "So, now to review your actions and activities the last few years. Please do correct me if I am mistaken on some part, 'Kage'." Spirit stiffened at the psuedoname out of nowhere,

 _... Of course he knows about that... Why am I surprised..._

"That is the name you have decided to go by among the populace of Shinjuku Kabukicho, where you currently reside, and is also the location of your second occupation as a part-time bartender in the Yowai Hikari Club. You're still siphoning off a large portion of your government pay for being a Pro Hero and the No. 26 currently ranked Hero. Siphons that are used to fulfill your self-appointed support fund to America, and also to repay what debt you owe for services quite illegal four years ago." Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes narrowed- but there was no judgment nor disgust in him, just calm and cool and flat. "Illegal and ill-advised, but perhaps appropriate given the situation- so I've continued to ignore it. Between these two hefty blows to your salary as a Pro, and other expenses for living quarters and whatnot, you took on a second job to try and earn a cushion, and have been making do. You have refused numerous offers to join a Pro Hero Agency, and make no effort to change that stance... And have steadily climbed the Rankings since your debut two years ago, and now have settled on 26 for a few months. Your current working schedule includes a 5am-12pm shift as a bartender, and then a 5pm-4:30am shift as a Pro Hero."

His eyes opened again as he looked at her and what disgruntled look she had at the fact he knew so _fucking_ much about her.

 _Creepy government agency guy_

"You've made no noteworthy acquaintances since leaving high school and have kept one friend- the Pro Hero Death Arms." Dante murmured, "You've remained an honorable Pro Hero with a stellar track record and have always used caution and restraint against the opponents you've faced. And until today, your First-Contact Capture Rate sat securely at 100%. Despite your efforts, and those of the police and other Pro Heroes- Stain has gone to ground, and no amount of searching has yielded anything useful." Spirit bit the inside of her cheek harder,

 _Damn it_

"However that said, your Rescue Rate is still 100%." Dante said coolly, she blinked, perking up instantly at that. "Pro Hero Ingenium was admitted into emergency surgery upon arrival at the hospital, and after a number of hours- they have managed to stabilize his condition, and do not expect his injuries to prove fatal." Spirit's eyes widened slightly, her heart skipping a beat at the news. "All in all, you get an A+ for your actions today- which brings you to an A for your overall score." Dante murmured, "Impressive, Animal Spirit." She looked a bit nervous at the praise, "Perhaps that will provide some solace, considering the consequences you'll be facing from using your Quirk so extensively today."

 _... No kidding..._

"You intend to go for a drink with Death Arms, and go home afterwards yes?" Dante murmured, Spirit nodded slightly. "Will my warning for you to take more than a few days, and instead a week off at least, have any bearing whatsoever?" He asked next, Spirit frowned, and the man nodded. "I assumed not, very well..." He turned and bent over a bit, his hand closing around the handle of a metal case that had been on the floor and hidden behind his leg. Her eyes flashed, recognizing the familiar case and a little taken aback by it.

"The hospital staff sent your Hero Uniform in for repairs earlier, but I took the liberty of stopping by the Support Office and collecting your old uniform for the meantime." Dante murmured, setting the case down in her hands as she reflexively moved to take it. "There is a large number of news reporters and media outlets camped outside the hospital waiting to catch you for an interview or some comment. By now the police have issued an official statement on what transpired with the Hero Killer, but pending it is an ongoing investigation- they left out quite a number of details. You can make a statement if you wish to, as long as you keep that in mind." Spirit's eyes dropped to the case in her hands and Dante blinked at her, still so expressionless. "You can also choose to avoid them altogether, if that is your preference." He murmured, "I'm sure the doctor has more he'd like to say before you check yourself out. Do try and take it easy, Animal Spirit. For now I'll take my leave... Call me if you need something of course, though I won't expect you to." He murmured, his hand raising in air and fingers extended as he drew a decisive line downward- and those faint white lines that had surrounded the walls of the room suddenly broke apart in dozens of different places. With that he waved a hand behind him and started toward the door, leaving Animal Spirit in silence.

"... Oh, that car that Death Arms is coming in, is yours to use as you like for the rest of the day." He added flatly, Spirit blinked.

"... Thanks... Dante..." she mumbled lowly and slowly as he reached the door.

"Don't strain yourself." He murmured, she grimaced.

 _Ass_

He opened the door and stepped through it with not another word or glance back, and it shut between them as he left as quickly as he'd popped into her life... again.

Spirit's red eyes fell down and toward the metal case in her hands, her knuckles bruised and her arms covered in more and small, tiny scrapes... And here and there actual bandages from the cuts she'd earned from Stain's blades. There was one in particular across her shoulder blade that stung with every movement, and the one cutting across her cheek did too when she made a face... But even those were dull nothing to the deep, incessant throb in her core, radiating and almost hot from the stab wound through her torso. A throbbing that was worse when paired with the way her stomach was churning and her head felt hazy and muddled... Tired and dizzy even.

 _I pushed my Quirk way good far... I'm a fucking idiot_

 _And I'm gonna pay for it... Oi_

She sighed, her eyes falling as her head did too and her forehead pressed against the cool surface of the case.

 _... Today sucks... So... So badly..._

 **.:+:.**

"... Are you sure you're not willing to stay a bit longer, Animal Spirit?" The nurse on the other end of the counter Spirit was now leaning over a bit asked, her eyes glinting and looking wary. She glanced quickly over Spirit and what new attire she had on- her Hero Uniform Version 1.0. Which had been abandoned about a year prior for the uniform she wore nowadays- but was at the moment trashed from the fight with Stain, and getting repaired.

She'd changed into Version 1.0, after being given the case housing the uniform by Dante- and did what she could to wash away what lingering stain of blood had been covering her person even after having the bulk of it scrubbed off upon first arriving. And then after that, she'd packed up what few belongings she had with her and removed the IV line herself- and headed for the counter she was at now. She wanted to leave and she knew that car and Death Arms with it would be here soon enough... Just that little bit closer to heading somewhere and drowning what storm and turmoil her body felt like in the bottom of a bottle of liquor...

 _... I don't even like drinking, but right now it sounds... Wonderful_

"I'm sure. I'm fine, and I'd really just rather go home." Spirit murmured softly, the lie about her intended destination slipping passed her lips with the utmost ease. The nurse nodded, still a bit reluctant- but after all, Spirit was legally allowed to check herself out whenever she wanted, even if it was against the hospital's advice.

 _Power to the patient_

"Alright, I'll inform the doctor you're leaving and check you out from the system." The nurse murmured softly, "Be careful, alright?" Spirit nodded,

"Will do." She murmured, stepping back from the counter and turning to head up the hallway and towards where the elevators were... Leaving behind this section of rooms and whatnot and not bothering to glance at the people who (most of which) were all looking at her as she passed them by.

 _And why not...? I'm Animal Spirit... the No. 26 Hero... And the one who let the Hero Killer escape... And everyone saw it happen, thanks to that stupid video..._

 _Fucking hell_

"Animal Spirit...?"

Spirit's walking down the hallway and passed a set of locked and warded doors to another section of the floor- and a small, quiet waiting area- failed at the sudden call of her name from a voice so soft and somber. She stuttered to a halt, her attention shifting towards the direction it came from and catching sight of a thin, tall, older woman with dark hair coiled into a bun and a pair of glasses perched on her nose. Her face was worn, creases at the corners of her eyes that were tired and glazed, frown lines around her lips and almost gaunt and pale... Worried, and strained, and almost unkempt in a way that betrayed the otherwise prim and proper attire she wore, and Spirit felt her heart skip a beat.

The woman cleared the distance between the two of them quickly, swallowing a bit as she took in a breath that was probably meant to regain some composure- but really didn't. "I'm sorry to stop you so unexpectedly, I just wasn't expecting I'd get a chance to see you." The woman explained softly, her hands folded together in front of her. "My name is Tomoko Iida, I'm Tensei's... Ah, I'm Ingenium's mother." She murmured quietly, her words backtracking almost nervously in the middle there- and Spirit felt her heart skip a beat.

 _I... Ingenium's... Mother...?_

"His injuries are severe even though he'd stable now, the Hero Killer... The doctors told me that if he'd been brought in even two minutes later than he was, they wouldn't have been able to save him." Tomoko murmured quietly, her expression pained. "... They also said that what you did, trying to stop the bleeding and keeping him awake- you improved his chances. What you did was quick thinking, and it helped him... They were actually impressed with how level-headed you were in that situation, and I am too. Even outside of what you did to help with his injuries, you did more- you saved his life even before all of that. Stain was going to kill him and he would have if you had not arrived, and been so quick to guard him." Spirit swallowed a bit, her eyes glittering as the older woman's gaze fell on her own hands. "Tensei was alone and hurt and his life was seconds away from being taken... And out of nowhere you appeared, and you didn't hesitate for a single second. You rushed in and you protected him, and fought against the Hero Killer with everything you had... you gave my son a chance to live, Animal Spirit. You saved him." Tomoko's voice dropped, quivering slightly and Spirit fought to keep her composure up, even as her stomach churned- _violently._

"I've seen the video, Animal Spirit." Tomoko murmured softly, her eyes moving up toward the No. 26, and Spirit stiffened, paling just faintly as her blood ran cold at the assertion. Tomoko's hands moved forward and took Spirit's (very much _bandaged_ hands... You know, she did stop a knife with only her palms...) up gently, the older woman smiling faintly and her eyes gleaming as Spirit stood stiff in her spot, not wanting the contact but not arguing with it either. "... Thank you for saving my sons life." Tomoko said quietly, her voice breaking at the end a little and Spirit felt her heart break with it. She swallowed back at it, nodding stiffly as she gave the woman's hands a small squeeze.

"... You're welcome..." Spirit replied softly, her red eyes glinting as she failed to hold the older woman's gaze- and instead let her attention fall on their interlocked hands uncertainly.

 _... Even though..._

"... Hmm... Are you alright?" Tomoko asked gently, "Your injuries I mean.."

"Yeah... I'm fine." Spirit mumbled,

 _Not really though_

"Mother?"

Tomoko jumped, her hands pulling away from Spirit's quickly as she turned to the new voice- the tense, and afraid voice. Spirit jumped herself, her head turning to spot a young boy- high school maybe- standing behind her in the hallway and the light of the overheads bouncing from his glasses... He had the near the same hair and face as Ingenium.

 _Brother...?_

Tomoko stepped up and passed Animal Spirit, the Pro stepping to the side a bit and immediately out of place and... _I shouldn't wait around, this is a personal... Thing..._

"Tenya, I'm sorry to pull you away from the festival..." Tomoko started, Spirit was already moving away, her eyes averted and slipping passed the young boy.

 _... a UA student...huh...?_

"Mom, it doesn't matter! How is Tensei...?!"

"... Come with me... His injuries are bad... But he should live... Only..." Tomoko murmured, her voice trailing away as Spirit left them behind- but she caught the words, and her heart dropped.

"... They think he might be paralyzed from the waist down..."

Spirit paled, her shoulders hunching as she continued to walk away and her lungs forgetting how to breathe.

... _S... Shit..._

 _... Stain... he..._

 _... Fuck..._

She shut her eyes tightly, biting the inside of both cheeks hard enough to draw blood as she turned the corner.

 _Fucking... Shit..._

She felt the lump in her throat and her stomach, cold and heavy and sickening. Her hand lift to cover her mouth, her fingers brushing against the underside of her nose as she held her breath a few more moments, before forcing herself to let it out... Slowly.

 _... Lot of good I..._

Her steps faltered, her will to keep walking failing her as she drew closer to the elevators and passed a number of offices and empty rooms.

 _... Fuck me..._

"Hmm? Ah, Animal Spirit, I was hoping to catch you."

Spirit grimaced internally, not looking to have another conversation with anyone, and her heart skipping a beat at the second unexpected voice in the last three minutes. Her eyes opened quickly to find the owner... _Huh?_

There was no one in front of her, at least not in her eyeline.

 _What... The...?_

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, though the circumstances are rather grim." The voice went on, and she dropped her eyes and toward the floor to find someone short and white and animal-like.

 _Who the hell...?_

"My name is Nezu, I am the principal of UA High." He introduced himself softly, hands (paws...?) hooked behind his back. "I accompanied one of our students here, given what unfortunate events happened with his older brother. I've heard the details from the lead investigator on the issue, and I've also reviewed that video that is circulating...you handled an incredibly difficult situation with temperance and cool. You were rational and you took the best course of action you could in a situation that was less than ideal. You minimized your own injuries and saved the life of another when you opposed an enemy that does not match up well with your Quirk or your fighting style. Even for the No. 26 Hero, you fought well and kept ahead of an opponent that has outmatched many others before you." Nezu murmured, Spirit blinked.

 _A lot of good praises did..._

"Even though the Hero Killer may have escaped today, you still saved a life, and fought admirably. I personally would like to thank you for preserving the life of someone dear to one of my school's students." Nezu murmured, smiling gently as he nodded toward her. "You are an excellent Hero, and your determination to protect others is laudable."

"... uhm... thank you..." Spirit mumbled slowly, "... Did you need me for something... though...?" she asked, he smiled slightly. "... Or ah... Were you just 'hoping to catch' me just to say some praises...?"

"Hmm, I'll step away from that for now, though you do deserve those praises... even if you, or many others do not agree on that right now." the principal told her softly, she swallowed a bit. "I actually did wish to speak with you on a different matter, and I'll make it short- you've had a trying day and I doubt you'll appreciate drawing things out for any lengthy amount of time." Spirit blinked slowly, standing still and quiet as she just waited for him to continue... She didn't have the energy to really engage in the conversation, and he was right- she didn't want to stand here for longer than she had to.

It was odd though, that the Principal of UA would want to talk to her...

"Now, you needn't make up your mind right this instant, you'll have plenty of time to think it over- but given you were unable to view the Sports Festival for yourself today, I made a small file of the Hero Course Students at current for your review." The principal said simply, Spirit blinked in surprise and confusion. "I've detailed the basis of their personalities, and their Quirks, so that you can look over them, and should one or two catch your eye- you'd have the information you need to submit an offer for a potential internship." Spirit's eyes widened, her expression falling flat as she simply stared. His arm extended toward her with a folder in hand,

 _I'm sorry, what..?_

"It is your choice to participate in the internships of course, but I went ahead and cleared you for it. Usually Hero Agencies and Pros go through a screening process before they are allowed to make offers and potentially take one of one of our students- but given your lack of an office, I handled all of that for you. And I'm sure you'd take excellent care of anyone who interns with you, should it come to that." Nezu murmured, smiling faintly as her expression twisted more in confusion and shock, her eyes dropping from him and to the folder, pausing. "But as I said, it is up to you. There is no obligation for you to take on an intern if you truly do not wish it. But this way you have what you need, and you have the choice to look over the files at your own leisure."

Spirit blinked, swallowing a bit as she reached forward and took the folder tentatively... though for a few moments she didn't say anything, and mostly because... well, she hadn't any idea what to say. Because she had already decided that the internships with UA (or any other Hero course in the country...) were not something she planned to participate in. Outside of being busy with two jobs and working awkward hours for a highschool student... It just wasn't something she could ever really imagine seeing herself do.

She wasn't social and she certainly didn't see herself as someone capable of being a mentor, teacher, role model, employer or... Whatever. And this was an internship with a kid, someone 15 or 16 and fresh into Hero work as it was... She wasn't that old, nor really experienced herself, despite being the No. 26. What could she possibly have to show or 'pass on' to someone not much younger than she was?

 _... Its not something I've ever considered or looked at and just thought; 'hey, that might be cool, let's give it a go'... I've never given it much thought at all._

 _And why is the Principal giving me these files personally...? There's no way in hell he hands them out to everyone who misses the festival... And why me? It's not like I'm a UA alumni... I've never even been to that school, let alone met him... And this... He's placing a lot of trust in me for no reason at all, even just offering this let alone clearing me without any sort of formal security check..._

 _... Why... Me...?_

It didn't matter how much she pondered it, she hadn't an answer for the behavior that was... Well, out of nowhere.

... Aaaaand... She just didn't have the will nor the energy to ask, or keep thinking about it.

 _I just... I can't right now... My head's not in the right place..._

"... Right... I guess I can... At least look them over." She mumbled softly, hesitantly even as her hand reached out and she took the folder from him. "... I'm not really interested in internships... But I can look... If only for curiosities sake..." Nezu smiled coolly and nodded, his hands hooking behind his back again.

"As I said, it is up to you." He repeated with ease, "Now then~ I have taken up enough of your time, Animal Spirit. I'll leave you be now, thank you again for your work today- and be safe." He hummed, waving goodbye to her as he stepped passed and started walking away. "Do take your time, there's no need to rush anything." He cast the comment over his shoulder lightly, though he never looked back at her. Spirit blinked, a bead of sweat falling down her cheek as she watched him go for a few moments.

 _That was... Really odd..._

Her red gaze shifted toward the folder in hand and she bit the inside of her cheek.

 _... I don't understand... What his motive is... With this..._

Her head ached the longer she thought that, and stood there... Her whole body ached and it was sharper and hotter an ache around her side and her abdomen.

 _... I feel like shit..._

Her attention diverted from the folder and towards her phone as it buzzed. She pulled the device from her pocket and ignored all notifications except one;

 _New Message From: Death Arms_  
 _The car's about to pull into the hospital, there's a..._

She pulled the notification bubble down with her thumb to open the full message, and not just what little bit the lock screen allowed.

 _... Lot of press and news people camped out in front. Do you want me to tell the driver to pull around back?_

Spirit frowned, biting the inside of both cheeks and sighing as she opened up the keyboard to reply, and swallowed back at the nauseating feeling in her core.

 _Just this once..._

Her thumb tapped against the keyboard and only two single keys before she hit send.

 _... Just this once._

She'd fallen into more than a few times of 'just this once' in the past week than the latter would describe.

 _Once has ceased to be single_

 **.:+:.**

There was a line of police cars and actual police-persons lined up in front of the hospital, warding off and barely holding back the sheer number of press, news reporters, cameras, and journalists there were outside Hosu General Hospital. All of them pressing closer to the line they were meant not to cross and wearing quickly on the nerves and patience of the authorities- everyone in an uproar and so many looking for answers, a sneak peak, a glance... Anything.

Amidst this mass of people and vans and police cruisers- a single, black, unmarked vehicle drove slowly through the crowd and passed the barricaded line with but a single show of a badge from the driver. In the back seat of said car, and safely 'invisible' behind tinted windows and one-way glass was the heavy, large, grim-faced figure of Death Arms. His eyes trailed along the crowd and the police as the car pulled up as close to the front doors as it could, and safely tucked behind the police line as not to be bothered... And where she could walk to and get in without being mobbed.

The driver of the car was behind a low wall that separated the drivers space and the backseat- spacious and with seats facing one another limo style. The driver had said nothing to Death Arms outside of first stopping at UA and picking him up, and continued to say nothing as they waited. Death Arms hadn't a clue what part of the government he worked for, and quite frankly- didn't really care. He had one thing on his mind at the moment, and he wasn't going to get distracted wondering about something he'd likely never get answers for anyway. In his hand the screen was lit up and showing that one word reply that the No. 26 Hero had messaged back- and that reply that had him reeling slightly,

 _No_

"... What are you doing, Spirit...?" He mumbled under his breath, his hand finding the door handle and pulling it as he stepped out of the car and refrained from looking toward the crowd- even as cameras flashed and they called his name, asking things and just generally trying to get his attention. But their attention on him diverted in an instant as the front doors slid open and they all found Animal Spirit as she walked out, straight-faced, and dressed in a Hero Uniform that hadn't seen the light of day in over a year. The Pro who was standing tall and walked out, calm and collected and not seemingly feeling her injuries at all. Who looked entirely unperturbed by the sudden commotion and the hundreds who turned their eyes and voices on her. The Pro who stayed collected even though the world had seen her in a video gone viral, battling against the Hero Killer, wounded in the midst, and-

"Animal Spirit!"

"Animal Spirit over here!"

"Do you have any comment on Ingenium's condition?!"

"What about your own injuries?"

"Have you found Stain again?"

"Do you know the whereabouts of the Hero Killer?"

"Can you explain just what went on? And what we've all seen in the video?"

Spirit made her way down the front steps slowly, a folder tucked under her arm and eyes cast down as she moved- ignoring the calls and the like, and her eyes darted briefly to the side to see the car and Death Arms with it. She'd make a beeline for him and for the safety of the car, as it was- she never liked the press and he doubted she had any patience for it right now... Not today, not with what happened. He kept his eyes on her, searching for her injuries and any outward indicator of what she was feeling-

"Animal Spirit! Do you have anything to say on why you let the Hero Killer Escape?!"

"We've all seen the video! You had Stain on the defensive, but you pulled up and let him go!"

Death Arms grimaced, the questions starting to fill more and more with admonishment and distaste- and he felt a small flash of annoyance run through him.

 _She would never just-_

Spirit hit the bottom of the stairs and instead of veering left- she walked straight forward, and straight toward the barrier, and the crowd.

Death Arms' eyes widened, his jaw growing slightly slack in sheer surprise.

"Why did you stop trying to apprehend someone who's killed so many?!"

"What do you have to say in your defense?"

"Your First-Contact Capture Rate has remained at 100% in the two years you've been a full fledged Pro, but letting Stain get away today has broken that. Why did you decide to let him go, and let the record you've held on to even above the likes of All Might be destroyed-?!"

Spirit's utterly unreadable expression changed- just faintly, and hardly at all- but there was anger there, and resolution, and a certain _fire_.

She stopped right in front of the barrier, her red eyes narrowed and her countenance nothing but tall and calm and so damned _firm_. She was almost daunting in a way, and she had everyone's attention in the span of a single second, her voice steady and her soul too.

"When I arrived at the scene, the Hero Killer was a few seconds away from killing a Pro Hero he thought 'fake' and unworthy based of his own personal agenda. A Pro Hero who has saved countless lives and worked hard, and done his job time and time again- and Stain labeled him unworthy of the name 'Hero', and reduced that man into something less than human. In his vendetta against Heroes and society as a whole, Stain has killed and harmed countless people- and regardless of what he says, or believes, or sees, or what he or anyone else tries to drum up to justify his actions- _it does not matter."_ Spirit growled, her eyes flashing.

"Cleaning society of 'fake' Heroes, or slapping that name on someone because you believe their reasons for becoming a Pro are less virtuous than another- _that_ does not matter. None of that does, because argue it and try to defend it all you like- none of that does, or ever will change the fact that he is _killing_ people, and _hurting_ them." Spirit said loudly, her voice curt and clear and easily rising above the clamor- all of which died a few seconds into her starting to speak.

"Call them what you like, it doesn't change the fact that they are all _people_. They are living, breathing, feeling things- and they are _lives_ , no matter what you say. There is no justifiable reason on this earth for anyone to kill any living being. None at all. They are still alive, and their lives matter, _always_." Spirit growled, "When I fought Stain I was shoved into a situation with little room to maneuver and no time nor leeway to second-guess what I did, or why I was doing it. I ran in and faced him head on with one thing in mind and one goal- I had a choice to make and I chose to do what my job as a Pro Hero is meant to mean."

Her red eyes flashed, her head high and her voice clear and unwavering.

"Above all else, the first job of a Hero is to protect others. We rush in and we stand tall against every sort of danger and we risk ourselves trying to save the lives of other people- no matter what. We do everything and anything we can to preserve a life, even if that means risking harm to ourselves, or choosing to back away from a fight. If there is _any_ chance we can save someone in the middle of a crisis, or a full on battle- there is _nothing_ that comes before helping them."

The crowd quieted more, all eyes on her and all of them listening- fixed.

"I rushed in because there was a threat on someone's life, and I chose to stay and help someone who was hurt and in need. I chose to stay and act on that chance to save someone's life ahead of trying to pursue Stain, regardless of who he is, or what he's done. I fought Stain only to save someone else, and the only goal in my mind was _protect them_ \- no matter what. My first priority was to protect, and guard and save a _life_ when I had a chance to do so, and I took that chance without a seconds hesitation even when it meant Stain might get away, or he might hurt me, or that others would lash out at me. None of that mattered as long as I could save someone, even if it was just one person." Spirit went on, her expression stern and unrelenting- determined and genuine all at once.

Her eyes snapped toward one reporter in particular among the many who had been calling out, and the women jumped a little at the intense gaze. Animal Spirit's hand moved up, falling on her chest as she forced a silent breath, and stood just a bit straightener. Her eyes flashed, crimson-red and steady and there was not a soul who was not riveted on her.

"The day that I try and preserve some stupid Capture-Record over saving someone's life, is the day I stop being a Hero."


	7. Chapter 7- Hurt

**Chapter 7**

 **Hurt**

 **.:+:.**

 _He was still watching her, his eyes still fixed on her back- but his feet had hit the ground and he ceased floating on air. She heard him take a single step forward, and she stiffened at it._

 _Her heart twisted. Hurt and rage and sadness all woven together by regret and betrayal... Broken trust._

 _Broken where she wished she'd never given it... Where she'd hesitated to give it at all._

 _This... Does he even realize what he did? Really?_

 **.:+:.**

Spirit handed the driver of the car a small folded piece of paper with an address written on it- and with no word nor any reply to it, the car started off and away from Hosu General Hospital with Animal Spirit and Death Arms in it. She walked away from the slightly stunned crowd of people and news vans without further comment, her expression giving nothing away, and got in the car with Death Arms right behind. His first, and immediate question was;

"Are you alright?"

 _Unsurprisingly_

Her red eyes shifted toward him, expressionless, somber, and she nodded just once.

"Fine."

She could feel Death Arms' eyes looking her over and taking in the damage. She knew he was keeping her in his sights without daring to look away- she knew he was worried, and he had questions. But he knew her well enough to know that he had to wait for her to break the quiet... So quiet is what it was all through the car ride away from Hosu and toward where that address lead- Spirit sitting opposite the large man and her eyes closed as she held a folder in her lap.

The car rolled to a quiet stop at the edge of the city of Heiku, pulling into an empty, dark and barren parking lot bordering a small, old looking building that was dark as the outside. The sun was setting fast and the sky turning a (by now, ugly) shade of red. Spirit stepped out of the car, slowly almost as if getting up was a chore- and headed toward the large and slightly rusted door. She didn't cast a glance back at Death Arms before she made her way up to the building and reached up above the frame and to the left a bit, her fingernails hooking under the lip of a brick in the wall and jostling it loose with ease. Death Arms blinked, walking after her and pausing as he watched her pull the brick down and out of it's place- it hadn't looked loose or not cemented in to start with, in all honesty.

The brick fell lightly into her hand as she transferred it over to her other one, leaving a hole in the wall where it had been and her fingers brushing along the inside and out of her eye line- she was pushed up on her toes to give herself a little extra height and her fingertips hooked around a key. She dropped back on to the balls of her feet with the key and brick both in hand. Her arm started falling back to normal level, and her movements faltered as she cringed, her eyes snapping shut against a sudden stab of pain running through her torso and across her shoulder-blade both. Her jaw clenched, a strangled hiss of pain escaping her lips- and a show of feeling her injuries that hadn't come yet, and immediately had Death Arms looking serious, as well as concerned.

He cleared the small distance between himself and the No. 26, his hands extending toward her and swallowing back the lump in his throat. One hand came up gently under her arm in a small attempt at steadying her, "Easy, easy..." he mumbled softly as her body relaxed again, though only slightly. His other hand extended a bit as he gestured toward the brick in her hand. "Let me put that back." he murmured, and Spirit nodded stiffly.

"... Probably should have just asked you to get it in the first place..." She grumbled softly as she handed it over, "... You are much taller than me..."

"... Are you alright...?" He asked lowly, she nodded again.

"Yeah, I'm good..." she murmured,

If only she sounded so sure of that

He grimaced but let it be, replacing the brick in its place as Spirit stuck the key in the lock and turned. The door clicked and she pushed it open, stepping inside slightly and her hand moving to find a light-switch along the wall. Death Arms stepped inside after her, his eyes trailing over the space in intrigue.

The lights flooded on to cast light over the building, it's floors worn and polished cement, the walls cracked and faded and built up of brick and metal grating here and there. There were tables spread out among the room that encompassed what must have been 80% of the building itself, their accompanying chairs stacked up and pushed against the far wall. There was a small stage on on end and a bar on the other, raised up on a small platform above the main level of the floor and surrounded by stools. The back wall behind the bar lit up in an array of neon lights and signs as Spirit flipped the lights on, the colorful glow sparkling off the many taps and liquor bottles lined up along the bar itself, and the shelves behind it.

Spirit moved inside without a care, her hand falling lightly on her side as she walked forward and toward the bar in something of a beeline. Death Arms paused a bit though in the entrance, taking the setting in and the eerie silence of the very empty and dead bar.

"... what is this place?" He murmured, his eyes landing on Spirit's back as she walked away and grimacing when he found the bandages across her shoulders, visible due to the small slits made into the back of the top half of her uniform.

"... hmm...? Oh, this place belongs to my 'uncle'." Spirit murmured, her hands raising wearily in sign of the quotation marks around the last word. She cast a glance over her shoulder toward him, sighing as she shook her head. "... sort of friend, older acquaintance of mine via my... family... he never opens the bar for the Sports Festival... doesn't wanna deal with the crowds, or the mess..." She rounded the bar and started shifting bottles and whatnot, and set the key down on the counter. "... lucky timing I guess..." she mumbled, her eyes flashing, Death Arms grimaced a bit. "... hmm... anyway... got a request for what you wanna drink?" Spirit asked softly, her hands working away in familiarity as she pulled out a glass for herself and started preparing something. "... Red Eye... Yuzushu... Umeshu... Oolang Hai... Beer... Happoshu... Whiskey... you get the idea... I can make whatever you want if that's the way you wanna go... else I'll just.. Pour something... Or grab a can..." she sighed, pouring something for herself into the glass- soda or juice it looked like- before grabbing a different bottle and pouring in enough vodka to outweigh whatever flavor the first would have had.

"... That's the thing here right...? Pour for your friends..." She mumbled under her breath, and low enough Death Arms never heard.

 _... Beer is a thing here too, but I've never been a big fan of it... Or any sort of alcohol really... irony I guess... A bartender who doesn't like liquor..._

"... Beer is fine, Spirit." He murmured, walking toward the bar and her slowly. He wasn't even going to drink that much at all, one of them probably ought to not be out of their senses right now... And Spirit didn't really seem like she planned to be sensible at the moment. She nodded in acknowledgement of the words and turned, pulling open a fridge and finding a can of beer. She set the can on the bar and her own drink with it, before she rounded the counter and took a seat. Death Arms took a seat next to her and there was a small section of quiet between them again as they sat in the empty building, and the sun sunk down far enough in the sky it couldn't be seen anymore. Spirit's (bandaged) hands folded around her glass she simply looked into the pink liquid that seemed a pale and dreadful shade of red that had all the life drained... From... it...

Her eyes narrowed, the edges of her lips curling as her shoulders hunched despite herself- and Death Arms noticed the sudden shift in posture almost instantly.

"... What happened...?" he asked softly, her eyes shut against the question.

What happened?

 _I met the Hero Killer... I_ ** _fought_** _the Hero Killer, I bit him... I rushed in without thinking because he was going to kill..._

 _... I faced the Hero Killer and he let me live. He could have stabbed me and hit a multitude of internal organs and been done with it, but he didn't. He wouldn't just miss either._

 _I was supposed to be working Security at UA but I smelled blood and started running. I jumped in without thinking, and I used my Quirk about a dozen times passed the Limit I'm supposed to stick to. I moved and battled and chased him even when I shouldn't have been able to move... He was... Shit..._

 _... I faced the Hero Killer and I let him leave because I decided stabilizing Ingenium was the higher priority... Ingenium who survived his injuries but now... Now... I..._

 _... I...I've had... Today has been one of the worst days I have ever had... And that's really saying something given my childhood..._

Her grip around her glass tightened a bit,

"... You saw the video, yeah...? And heard what everyone is saying...?" She mumbled,

"Yes, but I'd rather hear you tell it." he murmured lowly,

 _Of course you would_

She bit the inside of her cheek, shaking her head at herself. "... It's a long story..." She murmured,

 _Though maybe not that long... It just feels like... A lifetime..._

"We have time." Death Arms replied, "I'm not going anywhere."

 _Of course not... You're my only friend... For a reason..._

She felt her throat tighten and her heart twisted painfully with it, and she bowed her head a bit, her eyes scrunching closed harder. "... I'm sorry in advance..." She apologized, her voice dropping to something just shy of a whisper- and suddenly, but surely- every scrap of restraint, and calm, and collectedness she had managed for so many hours now was just breaking... Crumbling away and shattering and she didn't have it in her to stop it. Not anymore.

"... I hate it when I get worked up... And I don't wanna suffer you through me... Crying..." she hissed, her shoulders hunching more as she bowed her head more too. The stinging in her eyes was getting worse, and the tightness in her throat. "... Damn it... I'm not trying to be such a mess... But _fuck_..." Spirit hissed, her head bowed so far now her forehead nearly touched the lip of her glass. Death Arms blinked, his expression pulling slightly in sympathy and renewed concern when he saw her start to tremble.

The No. 26 Pro Hero, Animal Spirit- who had always been nothing but firm and collected in all manner of situations- and near never got close to falling apart for as long as he had known her... that woman was _shaking_ , and on the verge of _tears_.

"... I rushed in without thinking... I jumped at him and lashed out and the whole time... He... _Everything_ about him, it just bleeds murder and maliciousness, and malice... The whole time it felt hard to breathe... My body wanted to freeze, but I couldn't let it... Damn it he... He _terrified_ me... He scares the living hell out of me and I had to... To push passed that... I haven't... no one has terrified me like this... In so long... And my body and my head... I don't know what to do with it...!" Spirit hissed, her voice shaking along with her body. "... Damn it... I was stupid and he paralyzed me in the matter of a few minutes! I lost track of how many times I tried to Shift to just... To just _move_...! And then after that I didn't care how many times I did Shift... I was fighting with everything I had and he... He let me live damn it...!" Spirit snapped, "He didn't want to fight me to begin with and then when he stabbed me... He could have just ended it right there and he... He... Even after what he did to Ingenium... He didn't hurt me like that... He _chose_ not to..."

Her voice broke on Ingenium's name painfully as memory of his blood pooling under hands rose to the surface with fervor. Mixed and melted together with his mother and his brother- with the memory of hearing the words said as she walked away...

 _Paralayzed... Because of what Stain..._

That was it. The one thought that broke her and shattered what will she had to not fall apart completely- and she hated the heat and the wet and the stinging of tears falling fast.

"... Tch... He... That idiot... He warned me a week ago... About Stain... He wasn't supposed to rush off and... And face him... He... I wasn't fast enough... And now after what Stain did..."

 **.:+:.**

 _"... Y...ou... You're... Am...azing... You l...lasted s...so... much longer... You w...were... Y...ou... hit... Him... I...i could...n't... I'm not..." Ingenium mumbled, wispy and weak and she growled. "...y...ou... A...are a muc...h... Better... Pro... T...th...an...me..." He wheezed,_

 _"Don't say that." She grumbled lowly, her eyes glittering and a slight bit... miffed. "You're a damn good Pro and don't think otherwise." She growled, her hands still steady on the fabric she was pushing against the wound- it was soaked already, but she didn't care._

 _"... Y...ou should have... Left... Went af...ter him... Spirit..."_

 **.:+:.**

Her jaw clenched harder, if that were possible.

 _Did he know? Did he realize just then? That his chances of ever being a Hero again were...?_

 _How... How could that idiot even say that though...?_

 _Me...? A better Pro...?_

 _No... I... I only got away because... I wasn't... Fast enough... To..._

"... Ingenium... He's... His injuries..." Her voice was failing her and that made her... _Angry._ Angry at herself, and Stain and... And just fucking _angry_ damn it!

She needn't finish the sentence though, because Death Arms knew what she meant and it made his heart twist to see how fast she was falling apart over all of it. She must have been holding herself back and stuffing all of this down for the entire day...

"... I don't care if everyone thinks I let him go, or made the wrong decision... I just... I feel like I was _useless_...!" Spirit snapped, her voice a bit more harsh and less shaky now. "I could have called for backup right from the start but I didn't, I just started running and after that I didn't have a single second to just pause or even to really think. I hate that I pushed my Quirk so far and I hate that I had to because I jumped in without thinking and gave him a chance to use his Quirk to paralyze me! I hate how hard it was to keep fighting even when all my body really wanted to do was lock up and freeze... I hate that it's getting me so worked up too, because I never get worked up over this shit and I hate that... that he let me live, it had nothing to do with me or my Quirk or my skills- he chose and I hate that..! I... I just... I just hate this whole damn thing..!"

She let out an aggravated, heated breath and her hands moved as she swept her glass up- and then promptly downed the whole thing. It burned like fire as it went down her throat, but it was a better feeling than the way her soul burned.

The glass knocked against the hardwood of the bar as she set it down with a bit more force than was necessary (or appropriate...), her lips twisted in a scowl and holding her breath against the sting that slowly faded in her throat and her stomach- but not in her eyes. "... tch... and I'm a mess... I _hate_ it... I hate it when things get to me... and feeling like crap does not help. " Spirit muttered lowly, her red eyes fixed on the back counter. She forced herself a sigh that didn't do a damn thing, leaning over the counter and sweeping up a bottle of whiskey. She poured it into her glass and set it down, slowly.

"... today is just... it's been a bad day..." She muttered, her tone rueful as all hell, and pained- pained unlike anything he had ever heard from her, and maybe hadn't ever expected to hear either. He saw the way her shoulders hunched, shaking slightly along with her body as she pressed her hand against her mouth, her head still bowed and her bangs hiding her face... but he still saw the splash of tears against the counter, and he let out a breath.

 _It wasn't... today was supposed to be easy... why... does the world wanna say 'fuck you Spirit'...?_

She sucked in a sharp breath of air and held it, doing her best not to make any noise or let the sobs in her throat escape- she didn't want to be crying damn it, she hated crying... but she couldn't stop herself, and she honestly hadn't the energy to really try.

 _... I've had a lot of bad days... but... but not for a long time... it's bad enough that even..._

She hunched in on herself, the burning warmth of alcohol in her stomach and the new drink she'd poured abandoned- and probably for good. She'd regret downing the first one later... and she couldn't very well drink and cry at the same time, hmm?

 _I'm... not..._

"Hey..." Death Arms murmured, his tone uncharacteristically gentle as he shifted closer a bit. His large frame was daunting and overbearing compared to her own, and he seemed like a big bulky shadow from the edge of her blurry vision. His movement closer might have been enough to scare anyone off, being in what emotional turmoil she was in at the moment- but honestly? The only thing about him she really noticed- was the _warmth_ he gave off with his body heat, that got warmer when he got a little closer- and something in her, somewhere deep a buried and long neglected... she wanted that warmth.

He raised a hand that landed gently on her back, and he felt Spirit shift underneath the contact, her boy craning in toward him as her hands abandoned the glass and bottle on the counter- and she latched her arms around him, tightly. He blinked, a little taken aback by the sudden gesture- before he relaxed a bit and let his arms wrap around her smaller form, the both of them closer than they'd ever been before- but neither of them nervous at the lack of distance. He just held her as she held on to him, her face pressed into his chest and shaking as she cried quietly, his expression worn and somber.

Human contact... contact at all, that was gentle and soft... every living thing craved it, especially at times like this- you needn't be human, or animal... you just...

"... you're okay, Spirit." Death Arms murmured softly, his chin falling on top of her head and leaned over slightly. "... I know today was hard... you did everything you could and you did a great job... try not to beat yourself up about it. No one could have done better, and there was no one there who could have tried... you were there and you did your job." Her hold on him tightened a bit, shaking her head against him and sniffing.

 _He always made sense, you know._ _He's always rational, he looks at everything that way... he's serious and to the point._

 _You know he's right... of course he's right, because you know it, somewhere in all this mess too Spirit..._

 _... you did your best. That's all you can do... You're... Just..._

"... tch... I know... I get that... I'm just..." She muttered lowly, he nodded a bit.

"... Yeah, you're just wound up. It's alright... Even Pros get to break every once in awhile." he murmured,

"We're still human."

 _... Debatable..._

It took a long while- she wasn't sure how long exactly- but eventually she stopped crying. Eventually she didn't feel so... Twisted and knotted, somehow crying had made that go away, at least some of it.

 _Maybe breaking down every once in awhile and just... Letting it out, is good for you..._

 _... I think I read that somewhere, or heard it... Who the hell knows._

She distanced herself from Death Arms again and he let he go the minute she did.

Jesus he was so patient. And he understood, and he didn't hesitate to just... Let her do her thing. He just held her as long as she wanted to hold on to him, and he didn't complain. He didn't even scold her for downing that drink either- which all in all was probably ill advised... He did subtly push the whiskey bottle a bit out of her reach when he got the chance though, and she didn't care.

 _I picked a damn good friend... I suppose my decision-making skills aren't all that bad after all..._

But seeing how she'd used her Quirk today-

 _... Maybe that is still up for debate too._

The knots in her soul and the bulk of her body went away with the crying- but not the ones in her stomach.

 _I'm an idiot_

She rubbed at her face a bit, somewhat self-conscious about the red paint drawn across her skin under her eyes. She doubted they smeared all that much- if at all- even with the tears... It was supposed to be waterproof/smudge resistant. Either way she was sure she looked like a mess and she hated it. But she let it go... For now.

She took in a long, slow breath and let it out just as slowly- straightening up a bit in her chair and eyes closed. He sat there next to her and kept her company as they both settled in to just drinking... And this time around Spirit managed to recant the full story without falling apart. She was collected and cool and she told him exactly what happened with Stain, and what had gone on after- and as always, he was an excellent listener.

The city outside was dark and the night settled in deep by the time Spirit drew up on drinking. She'd had little other than the first full cup, and a cup after that... Wanting to drink or not in the first place- she still wasn't a fan, and that reflected in her... _Moderation_ , was the word.

It was near to 10 pm when they called it quits and decided to head home- all well and good, because at that point she felt her stomach churning, her wounds an incessant throb, and at some level- felt her temperature rise too.

 _Fucking fever... Damn it_

They got into the car with the driver that had been waiting so patiently the entire time. Spirit told the driver Death Arms' address and the car ride that followed was quiet. He offered to let her stay the night with him again- to keep an eye on her of course.

What few people she ever trusted enough to know more about her Quirk- he was one of those. And after how much she'd used it today, both he and she knew full well that she was going to be feeling like hell for awhile now.

 _Sick_ seemed to most accurate word

"... Hmm... Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine." Spirit murmured softly, "I just suffered you through a sob-fest, I'm not suffering you through me throwing up all night, and all morning too." He grimaced,

"Are you sure? Your body's not just being affected by your Quirk- you're injured too."

"Yeah, if it gets super bad I'll call you or head back to the hospital... But really I think I just need sleep."

He didn't argue with her and she appreciated that more than he knew... And she was sure he'd be calling periodically to check in.

 _He's sort of a worry-wart... Most people would never guess..._

He got out of the car and they said their goodbyes as they reached his address. He stayed on the sidewalk, watching the car roll away and frowning, tense... Worried. He watched until it was out of sight, and he sighed to himself as he turned toward home.

"I take it you know where my place is?" Spirit asked the driver dryly, the car turning around the corner and view of Death Arms lost.

"Yes." Was the simple, one word reply and she sighed in slight exasperation.

 _Of course you do, you work for Dante... And as always, he knows everything about me_

The car was deadly silent as it drew closer and closer to the Red Light District. She drew the folder that the UA Principal had given her into her lap and hesitated to pull her phone up and see what plethora of notifications were sure to be there.

 _'Deadly confrontation in Hosu'_

 _'Hero Killer strikes again'_

 _'Hero Killer evades the No. 26!'_

 _'What we know about what happened in Hosu'_

 _'UA Sports Festival takes nation by storm'_

 _'Explosive victor at UA'_

 _'Animal Spirit justifies decision'_

 _'Hero Killer escapes'_

 _'Lineup of UA Students!'_

 _'Animal Spirit battles Hero Killer- video!'_

... And so much more. Her phone was at 6% now from receiving what sheer mass of notifications there were. She hit the button to clear all of them all at once, and left it at that, her red eyes dropping in weariness as she watched the city and the buildings float by outside the window lazily.

"There is a jacket for you." The driver announced with about five minutes to go, his thumb gesturing toward a small side compartment. Spirit blinked, the sudden information not quite registering- "You can use it to cover up a bit before you get out of the car." The driver elaborated, once it was clear she wasn't sure of why he mentioned it so suddenly. Spirit sweatdropped slightly, her eyes falling on her person and sighing.

 _Riiight... I'm dressed up as Animal Spirit... Can't have anybody seeing me like this around my house..._

She pulled the jacket on (a long, black trench-coat sort of jacket that covered the bulk of her person and her Hero Uniform quite nicely), and pulled the hood up to as she cast the driver a small, almost disgruntled 'thank you' outside her building- and then stepped out of the car with the UA files tucked under her arm. Getting out of the car itself hurt... Like a lot, and she had to do her best not to hiss as she stepped forward and left the car behind. It drove away not two seconds later and she was left in the open with the familiar, restless humm and the persistent feeling of unseen eyes that was normal for 'home sweet home'.

She headed down the stairs to her front door and the underground of the building, her hand holding to the rail and leaning against it a bit too much to look normal. Her legs were shaking no matter how much she didn't want them to, and her body just _hurt_. And it was steadily getting worse along with the warm, uncomfortable, hazy feeling hanging over her hear and her senses from a fever getting steadily higher.

 _Oww... Fuck me... And you too, Stain..._

Getting the key into the lock was much harder than it was supposed to be. The longer she spent fiddling with it the dizzier she was getting, and by the time she got inside and shrugged the jacket, and her shoes off- she barely had the will nor the upright balance to change out of her Hero Uniform and into loose, comfortable sweats and a t-shirt that she didn't care if it got ruined. She didn't even bother to turn any lights on, spare the bathroom, before she abandoned the folder from UA on her nightstand and plugged her phone in to leave it there too.

She sank into her bed stiffly, teeth gritting against the pain that flooded through her from her shoulder and her torso. A few minutes of moving and trying to settle, she found a semi-comfortable position on her left side and let her eyes drop.

She felt nauseous, and dizzy and weak and she felt hot- she was in pain and she wasn't _really_ comfortable... But despite that, it took two seconds after she let her eyes close, before she slipped into a place of endless empty, and a deep, dead sleep. Alone and in the mostly dark, modest 'box' of her apartment in the basement... In the Red Light District...

 _... What a...Terrible... Terrible day..._

 **.:+:.**

 _5:32 am-_

"... Ah... I'm not gonna make it in today... Do you mind covering my shift, Jeriko...?"

"Do I mind? Of course I mind! I'm working overtime here!"

"... I understand that..."

"-was I complaining? Seriously, working your shift means more money for me! Take as much time as you need, Kage~! It's not like I need to sleep or anything ~!"

"... You're strange, do you know that...?"

"No I mean it! I don't have to sleep- ya know, 'cause of my-"

"-Your Quirk, yes I know... You're still strange, but thank you for taking over for me..."

"Mhm, any particular reason you're skimping out on work today?"

"... I'm sick..."

"Hangover huh?"

"... No, I don't... I _am_ actually sick... But whatever... You're gonna think what you want anyway..."

"Hangover, definitely."

"... Oi... Uhm, I might need you to pick up my shift tomorrow too...?"

"More money for me? Hell yeah."

"... Thank you..."

... Jeriko was a strange person. It was hard to tell when he was annoyed or not, and his mannerisms were... in-authentically cheerful. She supposed he had to act that way, what with never sleeping a day in his life... _That sounds like a terrible Quirk._

 _But right now my Quirk is just as terrible_

Spirit staggered out of the bathroom after a few hours of being reduced to sitting on the floor by the toilet- you know, retching her life away.

Everyone's Quirks had limits and drawbacks, right? That was a common part of having a Quirk- and with 90% of the population having one, it was a common thing to live and deal with for most everyone. And her Quirk was no exception, naturally. But unbeknownst to just about everyone- she has something of a personal rule:

Never Shift into more than _three_ different Animals with less than _12 hours_ between each of them

The reason?

Well if she surpassed that limit- as she most certainly _had_ when fighting Stain- she ran the risk of overextending her Quirk. It took a lot of energy and conversion on a molecular level to Shift into different animals, and her body could really only take so much of altering her DNA like that in a short time frame. Not only was it exhausting- but all the surplus cells and strands of DNA left over between Shifts was floating around in her body when she wasn't in the form of some animal. Queue up too many different sorts for her body to keep track of, and keep a ready copy of, it starts rejecting those bits and pieces of 'foreign' biomatter until most all of the copied bits are just... Gone

Which pretty much meant she was forced into throwing it all up, which was just unpleasant- and kind of gross.

 _I hate it_

Those queued up and bits of biomatter were like copied text on a computer that's being saved for later on a 'clipboard'. Her Quirk worked by converting sections of her cells, and producing new cells entirely- and converting them to create different bits of DNA to match that of animals. Of which, the important 'building blocks' portions of those new strands of DNA and whatever- all got stored in her body when she Shifts and left there floating around even when she reverts back to her human form. They persist as something of a easy-grab, biological template to make Shifting between forms fast and seamless.

Those floating portions only last about twelve hours or so before her body breaks them down naturally, though. But in the (regular) event that she changes between a few forms every few minutes- her body keeps the most recent Shift DNA around for fast rewriting and replicating. Which, using that lingering and recent DNA building blocks to Shift? Using that was a lot easier, and requires much less energy to Shift- than if she were starting from scratch and using a different form she hadn't used in that time 12 hour time frame. And for the bulk of her life and her training to be a Pro- she'd only ever really managed to keep 3 separate DNA's formed and lingering inside her body in those 12 hours, before it reacted and she ended up sick as hell.

(And that's all just assuming she _fully_ Shifts into one animal or another- as opposed to Partially Shifting. You know, the hands and feet with claws, wings when she's still mostly human- Partial Shifts were more taxing and exhausting than Full Shifts. The semantics of it being her Quirk had to find some way to balance her human DNA and the animal DNA at the same time and keep them persistent enough to allow her those Partial Shifts... she had built up endurance of course, but she couldn't really Partial Shift for very long, and she refrained from doing so for the most part)

She grumbled, her head aching and her body throbbing with it as she staggered across the short distance between the bathroom and her bed. She'd been in there (as she'd said) for two hours or so and now she felt like she had a bit of time before she was throwing up again... and she needed a break. Every time her body convulsed to throw up, it made the stab wound running through her hurt- terribly.

She could see a bit of blood seeping through the bandages, and her entire form felt uncomfortably warm... but very much so around the wound.

 _... I better not be getting a damned infection... I swear..._

She sat down on the bed and grabbed hold of a few of the medications that the hospital had prescribed- popping the tops off and popping the pills into her mouth. She swallowed them dry and leaned back against the headboard, her eyes dropping closed and her entire apartment dull and dim in the morning, and lack of other lights turned on. She'd managed to fall asleep until about 3 that morning, and when she woke up she felt like hell.

 _Queue retching_

She forced a breath, her hand falling lightly over her torso and breathing in shallow breaths to avoid any pain.

She hated she had to hand over her shift to Jeriko, by the way... but there was nothing to be done about it. She could hardly make it across the room she was so dizzy and faint right now, there wasn't a chance in hell she'd be able to man the bar... or even get from here to there.

Her eyes dropped, she hadn't the will to keep them open, her senses and her head were in a haze that surely wouldn't lift for a long while... I just need to sleep it off... I'll be fine...

... and the next time she woke up, it was to the (annoying) sound of her phone ringing, and she hadn't even realized she'd dozed off. She was more or less just fading in and out of lucidity and it was all a big blur...

 _"Back in blaaaack~"_

She groaned, her eyes refusing to open as she rolled over a bit and immediately regretted doing so when she landed the wrong way on her side. She hissed, cringing as her hand found the phone and she rolled back over the way she had been- and relieved the pressure from the very much agonizing wound.

 _Fucking... hell..._

Her phone screen hurt her eyes in the dark of the room, and she barely managed to position her thumb over the answer button and press. "... mmm... what...?" She grumbled,

"How are you feeling?" Was the simple question from a voice she'd expected... because who the hell else would call her at... _what time is it?_

"... terrible of course... what time is it...?" She grumbled,

"Almost 5 in the afternoon." Death Arms murmured,

"... damn... last I remember it was 5..." Spirit mumbled tiredly,

"... in the morning?" Death Arms asked,

"No, five in the afternoon..." Spirit sighed,

"Spirit you weren't-" Death Arms started, she sighed.

"No, no... yes, of course I mean 5 in the morning... idiot..." Spirit grumbled, her hand raising to rub at her face a bit. "... sorry... I feel like shit... and you just woke me up... I'm not trying to be an ass..."

"Don't worry about it." Death Arms murmured on the other end, "I get it, you're allowed to be an ass sometimes- especially if I woke you up, sorry about that."

"It's okay." Spirit mumbled, "... So... Is the world out for my head yet...? Cause I 'let the Hero Killer go'...?"

"You chose Ingenium over Stain, Spirit. You saved him, and it's not like you didn't go after Stain once Ingenium was taken care of. You didn't just 'let' him go, he just... Got away, despite your efforts." Death Arms reminded- unnecessarily, mind you- and Spirit let out a small sigh.

"Yeah I know, but not everyone is gonna agree with that..." She replied softly,

"... from what I've been seeing, most people do." Death Arms said simply, Spirit blinked in surprise. "There are some people still grumbling about the whole thing of course, but the bulk of them are on your side, Spirit." She paused, her eyes opened and fixed on the roof overhead as she just lay there.

 _... What...?_

"There's even been a few other Pros commending you for what you did, and for your fighting skills in the video. A lot of them have agreed with what you said yesterday, when you got out of the hospital. It's a Hero's job to save people... and you did just that, even when it meant you got hurt, or had to choose Ingenium over Stain." Death Arms went on, "People are pretty much raving about you all over Japan, and further than that too... there's been talk you might pass up Bryzair in the Rankings after yesterday."

Her eyes narrowed to slits, swallowing slightly as she bit the inside of her cheek. "... you're kidding... right...?" She mumbled, "... I expected to drop down in Rank, not go up... besides, Bryzair is much more powerful than I am... that wouldn't make any sense..."

"Power isn't everything." Death Arms hummed, "Speaking of him- he's one of those ones who commented about you. He praised your actions... though of course it wasn't very energetic, but that's just him."

"... Bryzair... said something nice about me...?" Spirit echoed flatly, "... the No. 25... said something nice about me... I'm still asleep, right?"

"No luck there." Death Arms murmured, "You're not dreaming, and you shouldn't be so surprised. I know you're really worked up about all of this-"

 _What gave you that idea? The way I broke down crying last night?_

"- but you did do everything you could, and all things considered- you came out on top. You did your job and you did it well, it's not a wonder other people see it." Death Arms murmured,

"... mm... fine... I guess I might have thought the worst about all of it..." Spirit mumbled, "... and I appreciate the support and trying to make me feel better, don't get me wrong... you're milking it a bit though..." Spirit sighed, her lips twitching at the corners in a weary smile despite herself.

"Hmm, you must be feeling better if you have the energy to scold me." He commented, she shook her head a bit.

 _I suppose_

"Anyway, I was just checking up on you." Death Arms murmured, "Sorry to wake you up, I'll leave you be so you can go back to sleep... call me if you need something, alright?"

"... hmm... will do..." Spirit murmured, smiling wryly. "... thank you for checking in, _mum_..." She heard him let out an exasperated sigh on the other end, and she chuckled. He sounded a bit amused though, despite it-

"... yeah, yeah..."

 **.:+:.**

She only ended up sleeping until 7 rolled around, before she woke up again and the minute she did- her stomach flipped.

So she went to the bathroom and threw up what (she hoped) was left of that 'foreign' biomatter created from her Quirk, and decided it was worth her time to take a shower... and it was supposed to be pleasant, really- but it _wasn't._ The lukewarm water hurt like a bitch against her wounds and she recoiled the minute the water bounced against her skin. She bit her cheeks and held her breath, standing stiff under the stream and biting back the hiss of pain in the back of her throat. The longer the water washed over her, the harder her injuries throbbed, and the water ran pink from the blood that dripped anew before fading. She forced herself a sigh, the initial sting of the water fading after awhile, as she moved her hands and started working through her hair and gently scrubbing the grime and the blood and the paint away.

 _"...There's even been a few other Pros commending you for what you did, and for your fighting skills in the video. A lot of them have agreed with what you said yesterday, when you got out of the hospital..."_

 _... mm... Pros saying good things... what a surprise..._

 _... he didn't say anything about Ingenium though... I guess they've probably not released anything..._

... not that she'd bothered to look at her phone, or any of the news/notifications. She was somewhat avoiding it, to be honest. She shook her head at herself, wilting slightly.

 _I'm sorry... Ingenium... I wish things hadn't... damn it Spirit, stop._

After awhile, even the barely warm temperature of the shower started to make her feel hot and dizzy. Her hand found traction on the shower wall as she let the water fall over her bowed head,

 _... I should probably get out... before I pass out..._

She got out of the shower and dried off- pausing only long enough to wind some bandages around the wound through her side- before she headed out and pulled on an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She sighed, her eyes lingering on her phone for a few seconds before picking it up- and the UA folder too. She didn't head for her bed this time around, though she was very tempted to. She went toward the small kitchen and pulled a glass down to pour some water into it. She placed her lips against the edge of her glass and her attention found the small window across the way and the darkness outside.

 _... usually I'd be out working Patrols... nothing sounds more unpleasant than that right now._

She took a tentative, small drink from the cup before her hand fell and the glass with it. She set it down on the counter and headed toward her couch, falling into the cushions and propping her feet up on the armrest as she held the UA folder in front of her, and just looked at it for a few long moments.

 _... I'm not going anywhere anytime soon... and I don't think I'm gonna fall asleep too quickly right now... so maybe... I might as well just give it a look..._

She thumbed the edge of the folder and opened it up, revealing a multitude of papers clipped together and sectioned by student... a lot of paper-clipped little packets of information, and more than she expected.

 _... Mmmm... Hopefully it'll wear me out... I guess...?_

So she started flipping through the pages and reading the information and little notes about their personalities and their Quirks- all graciously put together by UA's Principal... and who had handed it to her for some reason she still wasn't sure about. She folded the corners of interesting ones and set the ones she wasn't interested in on the floor. Soon enough she was absorbed in her reading and quickly losing track of time and place, her eyes narrowed and trailing along the lines of words as she took everything in.

 _... useful Quirk... and winner of the Sports Festival apparently... though 'anger issues' is noted under personality..._

She dropped that one on the floor and kept on reading. Her thumbing through the pages drew up after awhile when she got about halfway through,

 _... hmm...?_

She pushed herself up a bit, her back hitting the armrest and knees propped up as she blinked.

 _'... a shy and quiet fellow, and lacking a bit in confidence. But he's got a lot of drive and determination, as well as potential.'_

Her head tilted a bit, blinking once or twice as her finger brushed along the margins of the page and darting down toward the description of the student's Quirk.

 _... Huh... That's interesting... you'd have to be clever with that power... And keep in mind where you are... The environment... Different strengths..._

She bit the inside of her cheek, humming under her breath as she read through the full length of the information available on the student- musing.

 _... I wonder how it would work with my Quirk...?_ _...and... Using this Quirk... It'd not be that far off with how I fight... Maybe..._

She sighed, folding the file up and wedging it between herself and the couch.

 _Internships are not your thing, remember?_

She skimmed through the rest of the files until she had nothing left to look at- and she picked up the folded one again.

 _... You already decided not to... Besides, you're busy with two jobs_ _... You don't have time, even if you wanted to Spirit..._

She looked to her phone for the first time in hours and ignored the notifications stacked up on the lock screen- and promptly deleted all of them. She was sure if she took the time to look through them she'd get worked up, and she didn't want to be.

 _9:02 pm_

 _... I was reading for awhile... Huh...?_

She pushed (or rather, struggled to) herself up and off the couch, storing away all the papers back in the folder. She paused when she got to her feet, her head spinning at getting up after so long and waiting for it to clear before she started walking over to the kitchen counter stiffly. She set the folder on the counter and took the hardly empty water glass with her as she headed back to her bed- and hopefully toward sleep.

But an hour later of turning and fidgeting in said bed, and failing to find any semblance of the word 'comfortable'- she rolled on to her left side and glared at her phone on the nightstand for a long, long while... before boredom and restlessness got the better of her.

She swept it up in hand and unlocked it, the light bright in the dark of the room and painful on her glassy, tired eyes. She lay there with her shoulder tucked under her pillow and her hands hooked around the device and leaning against the bed instead of holding it in all on her own. Her mind wandered away from herself and even the phone too as she started to tap absentmindedly against the screen as she played solitaire without really seeing what she was doing... Her thoughts went to all sorts of places.

Some weird places, some boring ones... And some terrible ones too of course. She recanted the rush of her fight with Stain, the memory of moving and hurting and the aftermath of it. She recanted the feel of Ingenium's blood on her hands and what he said-

 _"... Y...ou... are very... Hard... To get... A b...bead... on... Animal... Spirit... You... Sur...prise... Me... Y... ou're... Noth...ing... Like...I...i...ve... Ass...u...med..."_

What did that even mean? What did he 'assume' about her?

She wasn't sure she'd ever know, or get the chance to ask... And she wasn't sure she wanted to either.

So she forced her mind away from the Hero Killer and the armored knight, and traversed down a tangled line of thought involving her job at the Strip Club and bartending... And Dante knew about that, of course. And he'd reappeared after so long...

 _... Yeah, not thinking about that either- next thing!_

So the thought of bartending lead to drinking and then to Death Arms and their little... Adventure last night. Another bad place to go to and she hated it was so easy to fall into those places, but 'Death Arms' lead to their meeting and the food, and inevitably toward what they'd talked about.

 _No, not me crying... That other thing, when I was ranting... About..._

 _"...He sounds like the sort of guy that has to be really interested in something to ever spend more time on it than a passing fancy, and even take it seriously. And the way it's going- he's clearly interested in you... Maybe his interest in you might be enough to let him learn something- or at least consider listening to what you have to say."_

 _... Right... I was ranting about Bird-Brain..._

And it took simply 'Bird-Brain' flashing through her mind before she went on a rapid-fire trip down memory lane of the last week and the Winged Hero that had dropped into her life... In all his boyish, cocky, carefree self. Persistent and nonbothered and never seeming to take anything seriously, and all the numerous ways he'd popped up and tried to place himself in the forefront of her life and her thoughts.

And though she hadn't realized it until just then- Hawks had been the absolute _last_ thing on her mind throughout this whole Stain ordeal... _Huh_

 _Come to think of it... I'm a little surprised he didn't manage some way to bud in yesterday... There's not a chance in hell he didn't see that video, or not hear about what happened. He's all about social media and staying connected and with the times, right?_

 **.:+:.**

 _"Hmm, okay, maybe not numbers just yet~ How about Line?... I'll take that look as a no... hmmm... How about Instagram? Do you have one~? I know there's a lot of fake accounts under your name from your fanbase, but I haven't been able to track down an official one~!... No... you don't have one..?!"_

 _"Why would I?"_

 _"Because you're the No. 26! You're a celebrity Spirit, you gotta keep up with the world and all your fans~! You have an Image Spirit, you're a top Hero! Don't you think all your fans wanna see what you're up to, in to, or just wanna celebrate you~?! Please tell me you have a Twitter at least~? I couldn't find that one either-"_

 _"Nope."_

 _"HOW?! How can you not have an Instagram, or a Twitter...?! How are you the No. 26 Hero and have no Social Media outlet at all?! I thought I just couldn't find your official accounts, but they just don't exist~?! Spirit~!? Why not~?!"_

 _"It's not my thing."_

 _"What do you mean it's not your thing~?! All Heroes have some sort of Social Media for the world to check out! Even the ones who don't hit the top 100! You're the top 30!"_

 **.:+:.**

 _... Obsessively so, almost._ _So it is weird... He's such a child, I'd totally have expected him to just drop in at the hospital, regardless if he was wanted or not._

 _... Maybe he just got really in to watching the Sports Festival...?_

She clicked the home button and dropped out of her game of solitaire, flipping through the list of what few apps she had on her mobile (and most of them news apps and the like...), until her finger lingered over the app store.

 **.:+:.**

 _"But that's all part of being a Pro! People look to you as an icon! You're a fan-favorite! I can't even count the number of people out there who put you in their top-ten Hero list! Plus you're one of the few Heroes in Japan who has a flawless Capture rate! Every Villain you have faced you have caught, the first time! You've never had to chase someone down again cause they got away! Even I can't attest to that~! And that's a stat not even All Might has anymore after that Sludge Villain thing~!"_

 _ **.:+:.**_

 _... I can't attest to that anymore... you'd probably be disappointed in my less than flawless record now, huh Bird-Boy?_

Her thumb shifted away from hovering over the app store and toward the icon for solitaire again, but she hesitated to tap it.

 **.:+:.**

 _"People are super in to you, Spirit~! You gotta keep up with the digital times, let the world be in to you- you gotta stick with it~! Put yourself out there~! Take a step into the spotlight~! You've got a stellar track record, you're strong as hell, you're quick and you're resourceful and you get the Job done! And your Quirk looks cool to boot~! And you! Despite being grumpy as hell in person, you do make little appearances in the public- small, sly, coy little things and that just adds to the whole mysterious allure you got going on! That's an angle you can use! And people love that! Especially since despite being all secrets and shadows and things- you're always friendly with the general public! You've got the whole 'dark and mysterious but with a heart of gold' bit going~!... But even that isn't gonna keep everyone happy for very long~! You got to give them something, throw them a little tidbit- give a comment to a newstation, pause just long enough for a good paparazzi photo~! Doesn't matter what, just give the world a tiny little glimpse more into their Hero Animal Spirit~! Keep their attention, keep them interested and vying for you~!"_

 **.:+:.**

 _"Don't ruin it. Stay still and shush for a minute." Spirit ordered quietly, his eyes raised in clear intrigue as her hand caught his elbow and halted him once they were a few dozen feet away, and they'd shifted a to have their shoulders facing the crowd. His brow quirked, his hands stuffing in his pockets and intent on what she said and what she was doing-?_

 _Spirit let out a small, almost exasperated sigh and shook her head at him. She lift a hand, her index finger extended and raised, and her other hand on her hip. "You get one 'pause just long enough to get a good paparazzi photo'." She said simply, he blinked. "And only because I turned you down on a meal, when it's my turn to pay."_

 _His eyes gleamed, his attention breaking briefly from her face and toward her shoulder as he saw a haze of black-red begin to appear behind her, bits and pieces of the air wavering like black shards of glass. It was a cloud of distorted reality that slowly but surely started to condense and form something he'd seen before-_

 _She smirked, almost coy as she stepped up and passed him- her hands brushing along and parting the feathers in his wings as she kept walking, slow and purposeful as bits of black glass made of energy or whatever fell like a rain behind her. Dancing off and falling from the pair of large, slightly see-through, ghostly black wings at her back. Her red eyes caught his from the side in a single instant, her gaze glowing faintly- before their line of sight got broken. The simple sensation of her hand meeting his wing sent shivers up his spine. Her fingers ran through the feathers as she kept walking, his wings arching under the contact and stiff in his spot as he instinctively stretched them out behind him, following her movement and raising them up high as her hand left the sea of red. Her wings lift too, the topmost feathers brushing against his own and mixing- both wings extended in air and woven together here and there, both Pros standing with their backs to one another. Hawks with his hands in his coat pockets and head tilting back, smirking to himself and Spirit pausing, her hands on her hips and head tilted downward, smiling a bit._

 _Their feathers mixed, brushing against each other and clashing- his red and almost burning in the lights of the city nightlife around them... and hers dark and shimmering, swallowing up the light and ghostly- almost a shadow of his, reflected on water. A wash of glittering black sand in an ocean of fiery red, two pairs of giant, elegant wings touching and forming an arch- outlined in a backdrop of deep blue and the outline of rising buildings dotted among a night sky you couldn't see the stars in... and at either end the No. 26 and the No. 24, both of them smiling._

 _The few, fleeting seconds Spirit paused in her walking and stayed like that with him- they seemed to stretch to something much longer, somehow... in it's own way it was almost ethereal._

 **.:+:.**

She sighed, shaking her head at herself as she hummed a bit.

 _I already gave in to your damn paparazzi photo... and guess what, it went viral... I ranted at the press too, outside the hospital... I think that's my quota for out of character behavior, hmm...?_

She tapped her index finger against the edge of her phone pensively, she could still feel the sensation of their topmost feathers twining... a ghost of a sensation that radiated through thin air where her wings were meant to be, and turning into a tingle that ran around her shoulder-blades and down her back.

Her thumb tapped against the screen lightly as another window popped up and she started to type something into the search box.

 **.:+:.**

 _"Try not to get yourself killed, yeah Bird-Brain?" Spirit hummed lightly, never bothering to glance back toward him. Hawks smirked, his eyes still fixed on the sky but all his attention on her regardless._

 _"Hah, will do~!" He hummed brightly, "You be careful too, huh Spirit~? Not that I'm that worried about you anyway, you're a bad-ass, you can take care of yourself no sweat~"_

 **.:+:.**

 _Maybe I'm not so much of a badass after all..._

She blinked, her eyes narrowed at the progress bar for the installation of an app as it slowly climbed up toward 100%

 _... I certainly don't feel like much of a badass right now... I just feel like hell... and I'm bored..._

She opened up the freshly installed app and shook her head at herself, smiling wryly.

 _Boredom... right_

That introductory page popped up and the registration fields with it. You know the ones- type in your email and your password and the username you wanted the world to see you as.

 _Username: ?_

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, pausing for a few seconds as she stared at the keyboard and the keys with little a clue what to put into the field. It could literally be anything, it needn't be telling or specific to who she was... after all, she wasn't making an account with the intention of using it. All she wanted to do was browse the platform... she wasn't planning to be active in any way on it. No posts, no sharing, no... _what was that thing... 'likes'?_

Her thumb tapped along the keyboard as she entered in;

 _EbonyAnimalSpirit_

A bit on the nose maybe, given her full title was; 'The Ebony Hero; Animal Spirit'... but honestly, what did it matter? This account was just gonna be a boring, bland,empty name that never did anything.

She drummed up a password and entered in one of the several different emails she had just to have them, before hitting submit and sighing as she got transferred to her account page and directed to add a few things.

 _... oi..._

She tapped the profile picture and uploaded one of the few pictures she had on her phone- an artist rendition of a black cat covered in a haze and surrounded by fractured pieces of black, with blood red eyes and perched on the edge of it's nose- a moth. It was one of the hundreds and thousands of Animal Spirit related art out there on the internet, and maybe a bit odd to have art of herself- but she liked this one, and she'd saved it awhile ago.

She ignored the bio and all other things and simply opened up the search panel and typed in one thing;

 _Hawks_

The number of hits that popped up with his name was insane, and she could scroll through them all night and never reach the end... not that she cared to. What she was looking for was what popped up on the very top- his account, his username with a check-mark by it to signify it was his actual, verified account.

 _Hawkward_

She blinked, her eyes widening slightly as she felt her lips twitch- trying to hold back the smirk that threatened to break out over her face when she read his username.

 _Seriously...? That's what he came up with...? 'Hawkward'?_ _Oh my god... what an idiot..._

She chuckled under her breath despite herself, and hissed when the action made a sharp stab of pain run through her side.

 _... owww... but... still... of all the things in the world... he went with 'Hawkward'_

 _What a child... it is amusing though, I'll give him that..._

His circular profile picture was himself- unsurprisingly- a sort of sideview with his head tilted up at the sky and the city bright and lit up behind him... _huh_

She tapped on his name and was brought to his profile page, the bio under his name reading just this;

 _'You're friendly neighborhood Hawks here to sweep you off your feet~! Saving people's what I do, and I'll save you if you need me of course~! In the meantime, yakitori's on the menu, yum~! '_

 _He is a child_

She scrolled up and started moving through his posts with only the faintest bit of intrigue- the most recent being yesterday at around 8 in the morning and being a selfie of him hovering over the UA stadium:

 _'Lookin' forward to seein' all the kids at UA!'_

She shook her head at herself and scrolled further down, wading through an ungodly amount of selfies and candid photos of him flying above the city or otherwise just hanging around- and then there were a multitude of his lunches, breakfast, dinner, snacks... all of them ( _literally_ all of them) yakitori or some form of chicken.

 _Bloody hell he is obsessed_

 _... but I guess... he knows what he likes...?_

She skipped passed those with little a care (oh, and the amount of comments and likes on these damn things? MILLIONS) and drew up in surprise when she found that (by now very much viral) photo of _her_ and him in his feed. You know, the one with their wings touching- and in the caption of the photo he'd written:

 _'Mighty Wings x2'_

 _... Mighty Wings...? Is that... That's what his Quirk is called, yeah?_

 _Oookay..._

She scrolled passed that one and kept going, quiet and still in her place in her bed in the dark of her room with only the light of the phone available. He posted so many random things it took awhile to get through the last few days worth, let alone the last wee- _EH...?!_

Her scrolling came to a dead stop when the photo of a black cat curled up asleep and taking up near the full frame came onto view. A black cat curled up asleep and the picture taken at an angle above it slightly and with the caption:

 _'So cute~!'_

 _No_

Her eyes raked over the picture, taking in every detail, every little thing- the date it was posted, a _week_ ago.

 _He didn't_

 _No no no he did_ ** _not_** _-!_

She felt her face heat up uncomfortably as her heart skipped a beat- anger and annoyance and shock and frustration ramming into her like a freight train. And all she could do was just stare that the screen, stiff as a board and hardly daring to breathe- because... He...

 _... Fucking hell, did he seriously take a picture of me when I fell asleep on that roof?!_

The more she stared at it, the more she was convinced that that was _exactly_ what he had done.

 _What the fuck?!_

She bit the inside of both her cheeks, hard. Those cheeks of hers and her face that felt like a fire now, and a certain sort of fire rising in her core too.

 _How dare he...?!_

 _'Cute'...?!_

 _Who the fuck does he think he is...?!_

She growled, her eyes snapping shut as she did her best to crush the surge of emotions- you know, lest they get out of hand. As it was, she wasn't in any sort of shape to really be getting worked up and she was sure if she did she would regret it... So despite the annoyance that flared and the frustration, she quelled it, and managed to force herself a sigh.

She pressed her finger against the lock button to shut the screen off, before letting it go on the bed and shutting her eyes too. She ran her hands through her hair and grumbled under her breath, muttering a few curses and the like as she let herself lay there and boil about it for a few long minutes.

 _... What an ass... You don't just go taking pictures of people like that...!_

 _... At least the idiot had the better sense not to mention it was me in the caption... But still!_

 _What is wrong with him...?!_

She forced herself another (not all that) calming breath, her body relaxing slowly and her heart slowing down a bit too from being elevated.

 _... Oi... What a complete ass... He's got me all tied up in knots now... I'm supposed to be relaxing damn it._

She growled, picking her phone back up and unlocking it with ease as she scrolled to the top of his page again, and tapped the drop down in the top right corner, before clicking another option from the list.

 _... I_ _ **swear**_ _Hawks... You are impossible!_

 **.:+:.**

He froze

His phone had buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket with little a care nor thought to the people all around in the stands at UA. He pulled it up and blinked in surprise when the only words of the message he could read, and that had not been cut off due to lack of space on the lock screen, were;

 _ANIMAL SPIRIT LETS THE-_

Animal Spirit?

He was confused and curious all at once, and he opened the message not knowing what video was enclosed or what was on it... Not ready or prepared for the sight of a furious battle, or the looming, malicious image of a Villain with so much blood on his hands.

He wasn't ready to see Animal Spirit's blood added to the list. He wasn't ready to see her fighting so hard or getting cut here and there... And he wasn't ready to see the sword be plunged into, and _through_ her.

The video's start is what made him freeze- but when he saw that... That made his heart stop, and he wasn't ready for what rush of panic and worry hit him our of nowhere. He wasn't ready for the lump that fell into his throat or the way his stomach lurched painfully at the sight- he wasn't ready nor even expecting his body to react like that... He felt like he got stabbed too, and it was _painful._

He wasn't ready for his body to respond that way- not about her, or anyone really- but it did and it hit hard.

His hand moved up to cover his mouth, his fingers brushing against the underside of his nose and grimacing as he just stared at the screen in hand. He was silent and unmoving and utterly stony standing there and not making a single noise as the rest of the crowd around him started to become aware of the video, and the incident that had gone on in Hosu while they were all enjoying themselves at UA. He stood there, in his own head and unaware of all of them- all he saw and heard was that video, and the Hero Killer and the No. 26 locked together and both of them bleeding.

 _Shit_

He'd stayed in his spot and took to searching through the web about what happened and trying to find out more. What happened to Ingenium, if Stain were still at large, if Animal Spirit was-

Not many people made to leave UA even as the news started to circulate, but many got diverted from watching the end with their utmost attention. But among the grumbling masses- he stayed where he was and stood quiet with nothing but a flat expression and he _watched_ the end of the Sports Festival. He came to watch and there was nothing he could do about the thing in Hosu that would do any good at the moment.

But regardless of that, several vermilion feathers left his wings and floated out among the masses in silence. He stayed there and watched and those feathers flitted around the stadium and outside it toward the press, picking up on anything and everything, listening to what news he could of Spirit and the Hero Killer- and all returned shortly before he took off into the air with not a word when the Festival was officially done.

And by the time he made it to Hosu General Hospital- even he, the Winged Hero with nothing but speed- Animal Spirit was already gone and there was not a clue where she went.

And he didn't try and look- that felt... Wrong somehow.

 _What are you doing to do if you run into her right now?_

 _Probably just piss her off..._

... So he stayed away and he just listened, and read, and kept an eye on his phone and on the articles and the like. He read everything he could and he kept an eye out for reports of how Ingenium was, what injuries Spirit must have had (though there were no real details), and what became of Stain- which was nothing. He sent out a multitude of feathers and he flew over Hosu hoping to find the Hero Killer himself- and like Spirit, and several others before him- he found nothing.

And he watched the newscast of Spirit coming out of the hospital a few minutes before he got there. He sat on the edge of a building, all alone, and he listened to what she said in sheer, fixed silence. He watched and he saw resolution and steadiness of a caliber he'd never seen in anyone, let alone her. And he could see and hear just how much she _meant_ what she said... How fierce she was in her ideals, and hers beliefs- and her job.

The first job of a Hero is to save people, no matter the cost

He supposed he hadn't realized how seriously she did take her job as a Hero... Like it was more than just a job. And maybe more- he hadn't realized how much they agreed with what Heroes really ought to be doing.

Saving people _is_ the job, above all else... He'd believed that way longer than he'd been a Pro, or even been training to be one.

There was no news about Spirit or anyone spotting her for the rest of that day- and he'd long since given up the idea there would be. He'd perched himself on the edge of one of the tallest buildings and sat there on the ball of his feet- rewatching the leaked security footage of her and Stain in utter silence. The more he watched it, the less it made his stomach churn- the more invested he got in just seeing her move and fight and dodge around. In all honesty- he'd never actually _seen_ Spirit in action before. Most coverage of the fights she had had, never actually recorded the fight- they always just arrived _after_ she'd already apprehended her targets. A credit to how efficient she was maybe- and even when he popped up the last week she had always been done with what she was doing. And of course there _were_ some things, small snippets of fights she'd had- but never with any sort of substantial enemy, and it wasn't the sort of fight that needed her to work hard either.

But now he had a record of it and she was fighting _hard_. And against an enemy of a caliber she nor hardly anyone else had gone against before... And an enemy she was the only one to come out against and not be dead or hospitalized.

And in all due respect- she was _good._

The way she moved and wove around Stain, dodged and retaliated- she was moving around so fast she wasn't giving Stain time to gain an upper hand. She was like a blur and the speed at which she was using her Quirk was... Incredible, to say that least (and that's coming from _him)_. And she was using it with so much skill and accuracy it was turned into sheer force and power that he didn't expect from her.

She was good, even _great-_ and Japan, as well as the world, were really seeing it for the first time. The full extent of her power and her fighting ability- and even the full extent of her drive and will. For what was probably the first time, the world was getting a real and clear view of why Animal Spirit was the No. 26 Hero in Japan.

He'd called her badass before but he hadn't realized how accurate a description it was.

So where was that badass, fierce as hell (and maybe even a bit grumpy) Hero now after her battle with Stain?

There was nothing about her all night and all day after, and he kept an eye out on his phone in case there was some sort of notification about her. He was on his phone periodically throughout the next day like always, but not because he was posting things or anything like that. He floated out over Hosu and Heiku and everywhere else in between, working away through the whole day and stopping thefts and accidents and helping people with literally anything at all- as long as it kept him busy.

That usual carefree, bright smile that the Winged Hero Hawks seemed never without- wasn't there. He smiled at the people he saw but it wasn't the same, and he couldn't make it be even when he tried... he just didn't seem to have the will to today.

And as night fell on that day after the UA Sports Festival, and the battle between Animal Spirit and Stain- he had little hope there'd be any news about her for that day. He found himself perched on a water tower overlooking the nightlife of the city below him, sitting cross-legged and a box of yakitori mostly untouched in his lap. He chewed pensively on the end of a stick, his headphones over his ears and playing music he wasn't really hearing nor paying attention to.

It felt stupid, but he couldn't stop thinking about her... he just wanted to know what went on and where she went. Curiosity he was known for... but... more than anything, he thought maybe he just wanted to know she wasn't really all that hurt.

 _She couldn't be, right? They wouldn't have let her out of the hospital if she really was hurt that much, yeah?_

And yet he'd seen her get stabbed over and over when he watched that video a multitude of times- and there was that small, lingering, little inkling of doubt.

 _Why do you care so much all the sudden anyway, hmm Hawksy? I mean you did wanna get to know her, cause she seemed interesting... but this is a bit out of the norm..._

He sighed, dropping the stick back in the box and leaning back- propping himself up with his hands behind him. "... I'm just tired, yeah...? Haven't slept in awhile... guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite for getting on her for not catching a few winks, huh?" He smiled wryly at himself, humming under his breath. "... heh... and now I am talking to myself... probably a sign I call it quits for today."

He sighed and pushed himself on to his feet, stretching his arms over his head and his wings doing the same behind him as he paused for a few seconds to do that before heading off and toward home. His hand fell in his pocket to find his phone and turn the volume of his music up a few notches, stepping forward toward the edge of the tower simultaneously and the box of yakitori balanced on one of his feathers. He paused though, his phone buzzing in his hand at the exact instant he let go of it- and he retracted, and pulled it out to read what notification had earned the buzz in the first place.

 _'EbonyAnimalSpirit wants to send you a message'_

His eyes widened at the words, blinking several times in surprise.

 _Huh?_

He tapped the notification and unlocked the phone, the app and the message with it popping up; a picture. Specifically- a screenshot of his Instagram feed and the post he'd made of a cat curled up asleep, and these words underneath it:

 _Taking pictures of people while they're asleep_  
 _is rude you know. As well as fucking creepy,_  
 _Bird-Boy._

Hawks stared, his eyes gleaming slightly as his jaw dropped just a little bit.

 _No way_

His lips twitched at the corners, smirking as he shut his mouth and chuckled.

He hadn't said anything about the cat or who it was- so there was no way anyone would know about it...and even if they guessed, he doubted some random stranger could match that foul mouth and grumpy attitude so well.

His thumb tapped lightly against 'Accept', still smiling and standing on the edge of that tower with no intention of going anywhere now. He started typing away,

 _EbonyAnimalSpirit_

 _Taking pictures of people while they're asleep_  
 _is rude you know. As well as fucking creepy,_  
 _Bird-Boy._

 _..._  
 _Aww, you can't be that mad at me!_  
 _You were cute, and it was a picture_  
 _ripe for the taking! I couldn't resist!_

 **.:+:.**

Spirit blinked, brow quirking when the reply to her message popped up in about a minute's time... _what was he doing, sitting on his phone already? Who answers that fast?_

 _Hawkward_

 _Taking pictures of people while they're asleep_  
 _is rude you know. As well as fucking creepy,_  
 _Bird-Boy._

 _..._  
 _Aww, you can't be that mad at me!_  
 _You were cute, and it was a picture_  
 _ripe for the taking! I couldn't resist!_

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, huffing at the non-bothered reply from him and not sure why she was surprised at it. She grumbled and started typing,

 _Hawkward_

 _Taking pictures of people while they're asleep_  
 _is rude you know. As well as fucking creepy,_  
 _Bird-Boy._

 _..._  
 _Aww, you can't be that mad at me!_  
 _You were cute, and it was a picture_  
 _ripe for the taking! I couldn't resist!_

 _..._  
 _It's creepy_

 _..._  
 _Ah well, I think it was worth it~_  
 _But look at you! You made an Instagram_  
 _after all! And you were creeping through_  
 _my feed to boot~! What's up, huh? You bored?_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _Shut up_  
 _I can do whatever I please, and_  
 _I was not 'creeping'. You're the creepy_  
 _one in this situation, Feathers._

 _..._  
 _Ah, so you are bored huh?_

 _..._  
 _I did not say that_

 _..._  
 _So how are you anyway? You're_  
 _not too banged up after what_  
 _went on, yeah?_

Spirit paused, her expression pulling a bit at the question and hesitating to come up with an answer. Because _of course_ he had to ask that... but why does he care?

She sighed to herself, her fingers tapping slowly against the keyboard.

 _Hawkward_

 _..._  
 _So how are you anyway? You're_  
 _not too banged up after what_  
 _went on, yeah?_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _No, not too 'banged up'_

 _..._  
 _Good to hear~! So, if you're_  
 _bored, how about we go get_  
 _that meal, huh~? Grab a drink maybe~?_  
 _What do ya say, Spirit?_

She paused, _again_ \- biting the inside of her cheek and her eyes flicking away from the phone screen and her head lifting off the pillow a bit as she glanced toward her side... and the fact that her shirt was stained by tiny little blotches of red.

Oh great... she'd bled through the bandages a second time. Lovely.

And it wasn't just that, her whole torso was throbbing terribly and hot... even a little movement was enough to make her hiss, and she honestly didn't think she could get herself out of the bed even if she wanted to.

She let out another sigh, and her head fell back against the pillow again.

 _Hawkward_

 _..._  
 _Good to hear~! So, if you're_  
 _bored, how about we go get_  
 _that meal, huh~? Grab a drink maybe~?_  
 _What do ya say, Spirit?_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _Not today, Bird-Boy._

 _..._  
 _Aww, too bad~! Guess we'll have_  
 _to try another day, huh?_

 _..._  
 _Are you sure you're okay, Spirit?_

 _..._  
 _Yeah, I'll be fine._  
 _I'm just gonna have to take_  
 _a few days off._

 _..._  
 _I gotcha~! You take all the_  
 _the time you need to be in_  
 _tip-top shape again, yeah?_  
 _Where would we all be without_  
 _our No. 26?_

 _..._  
 _The same place. you'd all be fine without_  
 _me._

 _..._  
 _But the world would be awfully_  
 _empty without the badass Animal Spirit_  
 _in it!_

Spirit's eyes flashed, biting the inside of both cheeks again as she grimaced a bit.

 _Hawkward_

 _..._  
 _But the world would be awfully_  
 _empty without the badass Animal Spirit_  
 _in it!_

 _..._  
 _You're an idiot_

 _..._  
 _And you're still grumpy as ever!_  
 _But that's okay, I don't mind~!_

 _..._  
 _Soooooo, what've you been up to_  
 _all day?_

 _..._  
 _You're also very nosy_

 _..._  
 _What's wrong with a little small-talk?_  
 _You messaged me first, ya know~!_

 _..._  
 _Look, Spirit, if you'd rather not talk about_  
 _it, that's fine. I can leave you alone if you're_  
 _not feeling up to it right now_

She blinked at the sudden change in tone (or whatever you could consider 'tone' when talking in text...).

He almost sounds... gentle, maybe? _Weird..._

 _Hawkward_

 _..._  
 _Look, Spirit, if you'd rather not talk about_  
 _it, that's fine. I can leave you alone if you're_  
 _not feeling up to it right now_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _It's fine, Feathers. I did initiate_  
 _the conversation, I guess, though_  
 _only to scold you. We can talk for a little,_  
 _but don't expect anything interesting._  
 _I've done nothing but sleep today_

 _..._  
 _Any sort of talking with you sounds fun,_  
 _doesn't have to be anything interesting~!_  
 _Sleep huh? You must be pretty beat~_

 _..._  
 _Musy be_

 _..._  
 _You're still tired, huh?_  
 _Must be_  
 _'Cause I'm pretty sure 'musy' is not_  
 _a word_

 _..._  
 _Shut up, I just hit the wrong_  
 _key_

 _..._  
 _Most people notice they hit_  
 _the wrong key before they hit send_  
 _ya know_

 _..._  
 _fine. I'm tired still._  
 _Fucking sue me_

 _..._  
 _Why would I sue you?_  
 _You've got every right to be tired!_  
 _So you're tired and bored, why_  
 _not just go to sleep?_

 _..._  
 _Oh, do you have a thing about sleeping?_  
 _Like insomnia? Or are you just opposed_  
 _to it and like to be stubborn?_

 _..._  
 _I have nothing against sleeping._  
 _I do not have insomnia either_

 _..._  
 _So why you having a hard time_  
 _falling asleep, huh Spirit?_

 _..._  
 _Who said I was?_

 _..._  
 _Why else would you be making_  
 _an Instagram and talking to me?_  
 _Can't have just been to yell at me~_  
 _Or maybe, have you finally warmed up to_  
 _me Spirit?_  
 _I admit I am charming, most people_  
 _can't resist me!_  
 _Have my devilish charms finally had_  
 _an effect on you?_

 _..._  
 _I'm sorry, what 'charms'? The only thing_  
 _you are is persistent, and nosy,_  
 _and hopeless_

 _..._  
 _ooof, that stings Spirit!_  
 _Is there really nothing about me you_  
 _like? Not just one, little thing?_

And she paused one more time, her tired eyes trailing over the words and quiet. What sort of a question was that? 'One thing I like about you'?

 _I'm not sure I like anything about you at all, Bird-Boy... there's a lot of things about you that irk me, though._

She just looked at the screen for along while, lost on a reply- and as the minutes ticked by, Hawks apparently got antsy.

 _Hawkward_

 _..._  
 _ooof, that stings Spirit!_  
 _Is there really nothing about me you_  
 _like? Not just one, little thing?_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _Hello?_  
 _Is that really so hard to answer?_  
 _You're kinda killin' my confidence here_  
 _a bit Spirit..._

 _..._

 _..._  
 _... did you fall asleep on me?_

Her eyes narrowed at the words,

 _Is this just him trying to boost his ego? Or does he actually care what I think of him? Why would he?_

 _And what the hell am I supposed to reply anyway? I don't have any sort of honest answer, and I can't think of one... What if I just make something up?_

 _He might take it the wrong way, whatever it is I just toss out there... Maybe I'll just let him think I fell asleep?_

 _Hawkward_

 _..._  
 _... did you fall asleep on me?_

 _..._

 _You fell asleep_

 _..._

 _..._

 _Definitely asleep_

Spirit sighed, shaking her head slightly as the messages continued to pop up in the small stretch.

 _Hawkward_

 _..._  
 _Definitely asleep_

 _...  
_ _I like watching you squirm_

 _...  
What do you mean, watch me squirm?!  
That was rude Spirit!_

 _...  
Actually I thought it was rather funny,  
seeing you get all worked up._

 _...  
You're kinda evil!_

 _...  
_

 _You 'like watching me squirm', huh?  
That's a bit kinky~!_

Spirit's jaw snapped shut at the text, her face heating up as much as her wounds felt.

 _Hawkward_

 _...  
You 'like watching me squirm', huh?  
That's a bit kinky~!_

 _...  
Shut it_

 _...  
But really! That's a bit sadistic of  
you!  
Can honestly say I wasn't expecting  
that! Guess ya learn something new  
everyday~_

 _...  
Shut it before you ruin it Feathers_

 _...  
Alright alright~! I won't try and  
work you up too much tonight~!_

Spirit shook her head at him (or rather, the screen), before pausing when another message popped up after the last.

 _Hawkward_

 _...  
Alright alright~! I won't try and  
work you up too much tonight~!_

 _...  
It's nice though, you actually have  
a sense of humor huh? _

_...  
Of course I do_

 _...  
Well this is the first I've seen  
you really make any sort of joke!  
I guess that means we're getting closer  
and closer to earning enough points to  
get into the 'friends' level?_

 _..._

 _Slowly, Feathers. Very, very  
slowly._

 _...  
Slow isn't really my thing, but I  
can give it a go for you~!  
Knowing we're making progress  
will just have to be enough to  
hold me over~!_

 _...  
You really are a child_

 _..._

 _...  
... but I suppose if you try and slow  
down, I can't snap at you too much_

 _...  
Appreciated~!_

 _... how are you always so cheery...?_

She didn't remember what time it was when the conversation ended- but she did remember it lasted quite awhile, somehow... and by the time it halted, her eyes were so tired and her vision so blurred from exhaustion she could scarcely see the words on the screen. And her will to keep a firm hold on her phone was fading as quickly as her senses were, and the bulk of what the conversations was- was just him talking away, and small, nearly one word replies on her end. She barely remembered typing into the phone that she was going to sleep- but she did remember the last message that popped up, even when she lost all sense of wakefulness soon after.

 _Hawkward_

 _I'm going to bed Feathers_

 _...  
Gotcha, no worries Spirit we can pick  
up our chat another day! You rest  
up now~! You've definitely earned  
it~_

 _...  
Sweet dreams~!_

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 ****Just a heads up, since I think I have failed to mention it! I Have a DeviantArtAccount and I have a few pictures of Animal Spirit up on it!  
**Check out my profile page to find out where to see them!**

 **Anyhoo, thank you for reading! And thank all you guys for all those Reviews! QwQ I appreciate all the feedback, so, so much!**

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	8. Chapter 8- New

**Chapter 8**

 **New**

 **.:+:.**

 _She doubted he did, a lot of things went over his head... Especially important things._

 _But that was just him, wasn't it? So carefree and flighty and doing everything in his own time and at his own leisure... Once upon a time that part of him was a little charming._

 _Not anymore_

 **.:+:.**

 _I must have lost my mind_

Spirit sighed, sweatdropping a bit as her shoulders sagged and she let her eyes drop- standing alone and at the front of a large, walled off gate and a folder of papers held between both hands in front of her.

She was dressed up in her Hero Costume Version 1.0- seeing as how her current uniform was still at the Support Agency and being repaired (believe it or not it takes awhile... her Hero Uniform had to have the fabric synthesized with her base DNA woven into it, so she could Shift between different forms without having to worry about her clothes).

She honestly didn't like the first version of her uniform all that much- it was more... hmmm... _exaggerated_ in design than her current uniform. More bits and pieces, and a bit of a different color pallet to boot. It consisted of dark red pants with dark gold stitching up the side, and straps of leather pinned to the waist line that hang loosely at both her sides (you know, as opposed to the ones she usually had wrapped around her thighs...). That, paired with a sleeveless dark brown shirt with gold clips running up the sides, red sleeves trimmed in gold that start under her shoulders and end just before her elbows- and around her torso, red straps. Around her neck were two dark red collars with gold thread wrapped around them. She also had on a pair of dark colored knee-high boots, and switched out her silver earrings for gold ones to better match with the new color scheme.

Her red eyes trailed slowly over toward the keypad attached to the wall, biting the inside of her cheek as she pressed her thumb against the call button.

 _I have lost my mind_

The 'received' tone sounded shortly after and she was faintly aware of the camera set up over the door moving away it zoomed in on her. "Business?" An automated, mechanical voice asked.

"Animal Spirit here to drop off some Internship forms." She replied evenly, her attention diverting briefly behind her and the empty street running in front of the massive(!) figure of UA High. Finding it wasn't hard, you could spot the campus from miles away with how big it was- especially given it was sort of out on the edge of everything. There weren't any big cities near here and the things that were close by were just small rural neighborhoods and small shops. For being the premiere school it was pretty isolated... Though it was probably easier that way, you'd have less people gawking at the front gates everyday.

This was the top school on this end of Japan, so she'd figured it was big and expensive looking... But fucking hell. The Gates stretched up far overhead and the shimmering blue glow of the windows from the main building set in front (and was several stories high) was... Ridiculous.

And the walls surrounding the campus itself seemed to stretch on for miles upon miles- _how much square footage does this place even have?_

 _... How much **money** does this place have...?_ _It's crazy..._

"Look at Camera please." The mechanic voice trilled and Spirit glanced up to the device, blinking as she waited for an answer. "... Facial Recognition, Success." Was the answer, and Spirit blinked.

 _Since when am I in the system...?_

"You've got a weird line on your face, is it one of those human, fleshy things? Hmmm... An _injury_ , that thing called a 'cut'?" The mechanical voice went on as the gate slid open to let her in. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, knowing immediately it was talking about the slice cut across her left cheek- one of the ones earned from her confrontation with Stain now two days ago. One wound, and all wounds still persistent from that outing of course- from bruises to cuts to stab wounds still raw.

You know, since even though Dante, the Hospital _and_ Death Arms all told her to take more than a few days off- she wasn't about to spend a week sitting in her apartment feeling sorry for herself and not doing anything... So she was out and about doing something, anything- and she was out here, full Hero Costume and completely sure to be back on Patrol by the end of the day, even if her body still hurt and it was probably ill-advised.

Her eyes found a small little robot perched on a single wheel waiting for her on the other side of the gate.

 _... They have worker robots too..._

"... Yeah." Spirit mumbled,

"You humans are so fragile." It sighed, and Spirit grimaced. "Follow me, I'll take you to where you can turn the forms in." It wheeled around, heading inward toward the entrance of the main building and leaving Animal Spirit to quickly trail after it and through the gate. She followed closely, eyeing either side of the pathway and the buildings, landscaping, and whatnot. The front half of the path leading up to the main entrance was void and free of people- though she heard the faint and distant sound of people talking somewhere she couldn't see... _It's almost noon, maybe it's lunchtime for the students._

One hand left holding the folder she had with her and glided along the railing lightly as they went up the stairs (to which the robot had to hop up the steps). Her jaw clenched as she bit back at what wince came up her throat when a sharp stab of pain ran through her side.

 _Oi..._

They reached the top of the stairs and the door swung open at some unsaid command, and the robot didn't pause before heading in and leading her through the hallways. Spirit kept up but let her eyes wander all the way, glancing inside empty classroom and rooms with a few sparse people tucked away and doing their own thing- none of which spared a glance outside the rooms they were to see her.

Some of the doors were _massive_ , by the way- reaching up high over her head. Others were normal enough, and everything was so clean and well-built. It was a building of the caliber of some important government place- and she felt out of place in it... She'd never been anywhere this nice.

 _Are all the other buildings on campus like this...?_

Their path veered left and ended around toward an elevator, to which the robot reached up and clicked the button to call it down. One quick elevator ride up to the third level and another bit of travel through endless halls and they made their way over a small bridge spanning between the main building and another. The fresh air of the outside blew through the middle of the structure between the railing and the overhead, and Spirit leaned slightly toward the side to catch a glimpse of the green on the main level and the courtyard... And the further toward what looked like a training area, and further still dotted among more buildings and then all the way out toward something... Massive. The Arena they used for the Sports Festival maybe?

 _But there are like four of those things that are that size._

 _This place is fucking big... How do the kids know where they're going all the time?_

 _I'd get soooooo lost..._

"Keep up please." The robot called to her, startling her from her thoughts and making her speed up where she had unconsciously been lagging. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling a bit.

 _You probably look like some starstruck tourist Spirit, quit_.

They left the bridge behind to enter the building it lead to, and another few hallways later- the robot drew up in front of a closed door. "You'll turn in your forms here, the teachers are currently going through the offers." The robot announced flatly, it's arm extending and hooking about the lip of the door.

"... Right..." Spirit mumbled,

"Yo, Cementoss!" The robot announced- much more loudly this time as it slammed the door open quickly, Spirit jumped at the forcefulness out of nowhere. "Animal Spirit's here to drop of Internship stuff!"

The door slammed against its frame and left an open doorway to a room filled with long rows of tables cordoned off into desks, with computers and papers spread about on literally every flat surface. Spirit held tighter to the folder in both hands, swallowing back the sudden surge of nervousness that flared higher with the more than abrupt entrance to a room that had been otherwise quiet- and she was standing there in that doorway with little to no introduction or anything.

 _Geez, did it have to be so rough with the door...?!_

Two pairs of eyes turned her way- one belonging to Cementoss (who Spirit recognized from various TV and media things she'd seen over the years) and the tired, bored one of a man with unkempt black hair and a scarf layered about his neck and shoulders... _Wait, isn't that Eraserhead? I thought he was recovering from the attack on the USJ?_

 _He looks... Well he looks like he hasn't slept in three weeks but he's not covered in bandages or anything either._

 _Does that mean Thirteen is better now too?_

"I did my job, so I'm leaving now." The robot announced, turning sharply and heading off down the hallway with not another word. Cementoss got up from his chair with a polite smile- though he was clearly surprised to see her there at all.

 _Of course... Did the Principal mention giving me clearance for the Internships to anyone else...? He had to have, yeah?_

"Ah, Animal Spirit. A pleasure to meet you." Cementoss said lightly, he waved a hand for her to come in. Spirit hesitated a small split second, before stepping inside the threshold and moved along the lines of desks and toward the blocky man. She shifted the folder over into a single hand and extended the other as he did the same- their hands meeting in a small shake as Spirit offered up a polite smile herself.

"Likewise." she replied softly, their hands separating as she spared a quick glance over toward Eraserhead and earned a flat stare, and a single blink.

"... I don't waste time on pleasantries." Was the grumble she earned from him and she paused, slightly taken back by it- but only slightly. The man's tone was flat and bored, but it wasn't nasty or anything so she didn't take much offense to it- though Cementoss looked exasperated with his colleague.

(She faintly recalled hearing someone mention before that Eraserhead was something of a stiff personality, and she'd heard several Pros mutter about how offhanded and even firm he could be- he didn't 'waste time'... Oh, and he apparently didn't play well with others- not that she could say anything.)

"... Right." Spirit mumbled,

"You're here dropping off offers for Internships with some of the students?" Eraserhead asked, getting right to the point as she stacked a section of papers only the desk.

"Yeah... Though just two." She replied, her eyes darting toward Cementoss as she handed over the folder to him.

"Are either of them in my Class?" Eraserhead asked flatly, his eyes on his papers and not her as Spirit blinked.

The little dossiers on the students she had had listed the Hero Class they were in and the Homeroom teacher for either class (A and B). In this case, that being Eraserhead and Vlad King- the latter she had heard and seen more of. Given Eraserhead was the sort of 'Underground' Pro that she really wasn't... Though she had once upon a time aspired to be, early on.

 _That didn't work out for me though_

"One of them." She told Eraserhead softly, aware that Cementoss had opened the folder and stepped away toward his desk again to start sifting through them. Eraserhead nodded once and stacked up his things, before tucking them under his arm and moving to head out of the room- but he paused directly across from Spirit and with the desks between the both of them, hands in his pockets and expression neutral.

"If you protect my student as fervently as you did Ingenium, then I have no problem with you taking them as an Intern." He said simply, earning a surprised blink from Spirit. "I expect you to do the same with Vlad's student, if it comes to that." Spirit's eyes narrowed, nodding firmly.

"I will." She murmured lowly, he started to walk off then.

"Ingenium's younger brother is a member of my Class. I suppose I should say thank you, for protecting his family." Eraserhead added as something of an afterthought as he reached the door, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, but didn't glance back his way.

"You're a good Pro, Animal Spirit."

Spirit stiffened in surprise at the sudden compliment from Eraserhead out of nowhere- and this time she glanced over her shoulder, and caught his eye as he paused at the doorway. He sighed and glanced away, "You did your job and you did it well, regardless of what everyone else says. There are few other Pros out there who could have handled that situation nearly half as well as you did." He grumbled, Spirit's eyes flashed and he looked away again. "Just don't let it get to your head." And with nothing else, Eraserhead was gone entirely and Spirit stood there, a little taken aback.

That... Well she hadn't had any Pro other than Death Arms say something nice about how she handled the whole Stain situation to her face. And she certainly would never have expected it from someone like Eraserhead- she'd been lead to believe he didn't ever approve of anyone out loud... Let alone _her._

She'd never even _met_ the man before, and as expressionless and flat as he was... well, he clearly cared about his students, otherwise he wouldn't have warned her to keep an eye on them... But she was a stranger to him, and with little but the strange and sudden backing of the Principal for no clear reason she could see. And yet he just relented to her possibly being in charge of one of those kids, and so quickly...?

 _What... The hell...?_

"... That is high praise, coming from Eraser." Cementoss murmured softly, breaking Spirit from her thoughts as she glanced around toward the blocky man. He smiled kindly at her, "He's very critical of other people usually, but I suppose I'm not surprised he feels like that about what you did. He's not wrong, you did handle the situation with the Hero Killer remarkably well. Especially for a Pro as young as you and with comparatively so little time on the circuit." Spirit blinked, "Truth be told though, I think he was also already partial to you even before what went on." Cementoss added in, almost amused. "He rather dislikes other Pros who spend a lot of time on keeping up a media presence- but you don't usually do that, hmm?" He chuckled, Spirit hooked her arms over her chest and nodded a bit.

"... Right..." she sighed,

"If you don't mind my asking, are you doing alright?" Cementoss asked, gesturing toward her and the small amount of bandages running along her arms. "You're injuries seemed serious enough, from what I saw in the Security footage." Spirit sighed, nodding.

"Yeah I'm fine..." She mumbled, grimacing a bit. "... it honestly wasn't as bad as the video made it look." He nodded in understanding,

"I'm glad you're alright." He told her softly, his eyes shifting to the papers again and Spirit averted her eyes from him and around the room in slight embarrassment. "I am a bit surprised you decided to offer Internships though, the Principal mentioned you would be hesitant to do so." Spirit's hand fell on the back of her neck,

"... I had time on my hands to just go through the files, and a few of the Quirks just... struck a chord, I guess." She explained softly, "I figured why not, I could at least offer and see what comes of it. Even if it's not really my normal thing... why not try something new?" She paused, biting the inside of her cheek.

 _... plus I was really bored... and the more I think about it, the less I'm against the whole notion..._

"I understand." Cementoss murmured, thumbing through the two pages that had been stapled together with the information for the Internship- the student files. "These two have Quirks that you could work well with and help to hone, so I understand why they interested you. I assume you already went through all the logistics that come with hosting an Intern?"

"Yeah, the Principal typed it all out and I read through it." Spirit murmured, "There wasn't anything in particular I had to ask either, other than contacting me... if one of the kids actually accepts."

"Right, you don't have an Agency to go through." Cementoss murmured,

"Yeah, so I put the number for my mobile in there." Spirit murmured, gesturing toward the papers. "I'm never really anywhere where I wouldn't be able to answer a call, and I'd be happy to come back and go through things in person, and pick up forms or whatever, if I needed to." She explained, Cementoss smiled.

"Of course, thank you for including that." Cementoss said lightly. "The students are set to start picking where to Intern today, and they're required to turn in their lists by the end of tomorrow. So, should either of these boys decide they want to Intern with you, you should expect a call in the next few days."

"Alright." Spirit murmured, "... Was there any other logistics stuff I needed to know?" Cementoss paused, musing almost as he continued to flip through the papers she'd handed over.

"...mmm... No, I think everything is in order." He replied lightly, smiling her way again as he stacked the papers neatly and set them away. "You're free to leave, Animal Spirit. I hope you didn't have to put a halt to your plans today for such a short trip here, I know we aren't exactly near Heiku."

"It's not a problem, I wasn't really doing anything anyway." Spirit replied softly, "And the distance isn't much an issue... I just needed out of my house." She mumbled, Cementoss smiled a bit sympathetically at her as her eyes dropped closed.

"I hope your travel here wasn't too full of media or Press?" He hummed,

"No, I avoided everyone I could." Spirit mumbled, "And I intend to keep doing so until all of this just... calms down a little."

"That's probably for the best." Cementoss hummed, Spirit sweatdropped, her hands on her hips and letting out a silent breath.

 _Of course I'm gonna have a hard time doing so on Patrol... maybe I'll just stick to surveying from the high ground for now, avoid walking the streets... even if I'm shifted, everyone's gonna be on the lookout for any sort of animal that could be me._

It'd probably be better if she just avoided Patrol of any capacity altogether, but she wasn't likely to skip out... not even right now, and with her side throbbing if she moved the wrong way. Or even with the inevitable multitude of people who would swarm her if she was spotted out and about.

 _Or_ even the fact she was hesitating to use her Quirk and Shift into anything right now. She'd only just stopped the retching for good yesterday morning, and she wasn't looking to upset her stomach or her Quirk again so soon. She'd actually taken a cab to get to UA, instead of just flying there- and right now she was looking to slowly head back to Heiku by just walking for the better half of it before she hit a more heavily populated area. And then she'd either relent and Shift into something with a pair of wings, or she'd get another cab... time would tell.

She bit the inside of her cheek, grimacing a bit.

 _... I won't only be avoiding press and fans and paparazzi either... I'll probably end up getting hounded by Feathers if he catches me out there... and I don't know if I have the patience for him right now...  
_

"Would you like me to walk you back to the entrance?" Cementoss asked, snapping Spirit from her thoughts. She glanced up and back to him as she shook her head,

"Nah, I think I can find my way back." She smiled slightly, "I wouldn't wanna tear you away from your work anyway, you look like you're busy." She added, gesturing toward the array of things and papers and folders all around. He chuckled a bit,

"If you're sure..." He murmured, Spirit nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She hummed, "It was a pretty straight shot here, I doubt I'm gonna get lost retracing my steps."

 **.:+:.**

 _I'm completely lost_

She groaned, her hands hooked behind her head and stopped along the railing overlooking a courtyard in an array of buildings that was square in shape. Fifteen minutes of attempting to make her way back the way she had come, had ended up in wandering the hallways almost aimlessly and now she had little clue nor bearing as to where she was or what way went out.

 _I'm hopeless... I should've just asked Cementoss to bring me to the front_

Her eyes trailed down the small open-air corridor and towards where there were rooms further up... _Maybe I should ask for directions?_

She bit into both cheeks, grumbling.

 _... I'm not barging into some classroom to ask, I'll get swarmed by the kids. I'll just have to keep trying and avoiding the students... If I see an adult out and about I'll ask. But for now, I'm on my own._

She huffed and started down the opposite end and the way she hadn't been down yet. She made her way down floor after floor and eventually ended up outside on a pathway and around the side of a building- _maybe if I just follow the edge I'll end up at the front... Eventually._

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it up to see an unfamiliar sort of notification- but easily read.

 _Instagram_  
 _Hawkward: goooooood morning sunshine~!_

Spirit sighed, shaking her head at the words and unlocking her phone to open the app.

 _Hawkward_

 _goooooood morning_  
 _sunshine~!_

 _..._  
 _It's 1 in the afternoon,_  
 _Feathers._  
 _And do not call me_  
 _'sunshine'._

 _..._  
 _Good morning to you_  
 _too Grumpy~! Caught_  
 _ya on your phone huh?_  
 _You replied real fast!_

 _..._  
 _Again, it's afternoon._  
 _Not morning._

 _..._  
 _Semantics really, I was_  
 _just trying to be friendly_  
 _ya know ~!_  
 _Soooo, how are you?_  
 _What've you been up_  
 _to today? Anything_  
 _interesting? Or are you_  
 _still on house arrest? I_  
 _missed ya all day_  
 _yesterday, I messaged_  
 _you but ya never replied~_

Oh yes. He had messaged her in the morning yesterday- the morning following starting the conversation over Instagram at all- but she'd seen it and left it, and in reality she'd done little but sleep yesterday and try to do some semblance of cleaning around her apartment- as well as fill out what files and papers she needed to regarding the Internships... You know, after debating it with herself a dozen times or more.

Anyway, the mentioned message he'd sent was;

 _Morning Sunshine~! You have sweet dreams? Hope so~!_

But like she said, she'd never garnered a response. And surprisingly- he'd left it at that till now. And apparently he stuck to about the same greeting... She blinked, her eyes widening slightly when another message popped up after a few moments,

 _Hawkward_

 _Semantics really, I was_  
 _just trying to be friendly_  
 _ya know ~!_  
 _Soooo, how are you?_  
 _What've you been up_  
 _to today? Anything_  
 _interesting? Or are you_  
 _still on house arrest? I_  
 _missed ya all day_  
 _yesterday, I messaged_  
 _you but ya never replied~_

 _..._  
 _I was a bit worried ya_  
 _know, thought maybe_  
 _you were stuck at home_  
 _all by yourself, running_  
 _a fever or something_  
 _with no one to look after_  
 _you~! You live alone_  
 _yeah~? I was afraid_  
 _you're injuries had gotten_  
 _real bad and nobody_  
 _would ever know you_  
 _needed help, Spirit~!_

Spirit paused, her walking pausing too- and a foot or two from the corner of the building she had to turn around. Her eyes flashed, reading the words and the slightly joking 'tone' of them... Slightly.

It was hard to judge someone on the other side of a screen, but he almost seemed genuine, and it surprised her. It was almost like when he had seemed concerned the first time she'd started up the conversation- when he said he'd leave her alone... Though that time his words had had none of those little flourishes and things that gave indication to a more lighthearted sort of attitude.

(You know~! Talking like a child~ being overzealous with things? ? ?)

She bit the inside of her cheek, her thumb tapping against the side of her phone pensively.

 _... Spirit, you are psychoanalyzing his typing habits... Stop..._

"There you are! Thought maybe I'd missed you! Do not fret- I Am Here!"

Spirit went rigid at the sudden loud and exaggerated voice, her eyes flashing and bristling as she saw someone suddenly slide out from the corner ahead of her- a looming, tall, bulky shadow of a man easily three heads her height.

She jumped, her phone tumbling from her hand and heart leaping- running about a hundred miles and hour in her sudden panic and surprise- she lost track of her faculties and her head. Her body swept up in a fractured black-red haze and she Shifted into a cat in her fright, black arched and fur fluffed up as she glared at the now _one hundred_ times taller blonde man in front of her. Her ears slammed back against her skull and she bared her teeth, uncaring of the way his hand darted forward and caught her phone in no time at all. Her panic shattered as anger and annoyance dropped in its place.

"Ah, seems I startled you! So sorry, Animal Spirit!" All Might announced brightly, unperturbed with her reaction in the slightest- her tail lashed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She snapped hotly, "You can't just go popping up around corners in front of people without warning!" she hissed, Shifting back into her regular form and fists clenched at her sides as she glared daggers at the No. 1. "One of these days someone is gonna punch you! Or worse!"

"My apologies, I wasn't intending surprise you like that." All Might apologized again, still his same, bright, confident persona even under the seething of the No. 26. "I was just hoping to have a word with you before you left, and it took me some time to find you!" Spirit grimaced, "Now what's the No. 26 Pro Hero doing out here, skirting around the building, hmm?"

"... I'm not snooping-" she replied lowly and he shook his head, laughing as he smiled and held up a hand to stop her.

"Of course not! I wasn't suggesting anything of the sort!" He replied, "I assume you simply got lost, no harm in that! I'll be sure to see you to the entrance when I've said my piece!" She bit down on her tongue to keep herself quiet.

 _Of all people to run into at this school... Damn it I even blanked on the fact that he's a teacher here now._

 _And he was_ ** _looking_** _for me-_

"... And what did you want to talk to me about?" Spirit asked slowly, doing her best to be polite regardless of her irritation.

"Straight to the point! I wanted to have a word about what happened with the Hero Killer!" All Might replied with ease, his cheerfulness sort of dimmed a bit though- just a bit.

 _Figures..._

"Now I'm sure you've heard your fair share about your actions, but allow me to add mine anyway!" He started with ease. "I've seen the video, and I've also had a few words with police too- given Stain mentioned me as his only match!"

 **.:+:.**

 _"Haaah... not one of you bastards is a damn Hero... only he is..."_

 _The sword shifted, the tip of it lifting slightly as the cruel grip grew tighter and those blood-red eyes flashed, dangerous and wicked and crazed. The entire alleyway was awash in a feel and an energy that was suffocating, spin-chilling, and..._

 _"Haaah... the only one who's allowed to do me in... haah... is All Might..."_

 **.:+:.**

 _... Yeah..._

"Now, I know things were difficult, and what happened with Ingenium is a terrible loss to the whole of Japan." All Might told her steadily, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek at the name, her eyes flashing. "But despite that, you managed to save his life, and you showed the world that the Hero Killer is not invincible. Even if Stain has placed me as his only equal- I think he was likely surprised to find you were his unappointed equal."

 _I wouldn't say-_

His hand swept up in a sort of signature thumbs up, and Spirit blinked at the gesture.

"You did a wonderful job handling the situation- and you sure gave Stain a run for his money! I would expect nothing less of the No. 26 Hero!" He smiled, his persona losing the small moment or two of dimming down. "Now don't you worry! Stain's days of mayhem are soon to be over, I promise you that! He will be caught soon enough! But in the meantime- keep up the good work! Who knows, you might just jump up a few Ranks now!"

His hand came down on her head in a patting motion and Spirit bit both cheeks to keep herself from snapping at him as a rise of further agitation flared in her core.

 _It's just him Spirit, this is what he's like... He's trying to be nice... But damn it, I hate it when people pet me._

 _And how can he say that? Does he plan to hunt Stain down himself now? That bastard's been running around murdering people for_ _ **months**_ _now and I haven't seen All Might-_

 _\- Spirit stop. You're being a bitch... Damned if this guy doesn't still irk me, even after all this time... Even though I'm older... And I know he isn't the one to place fault on..._

 _... my emotions and my mind are still not in agreement... Ugh_

His patting of her head came to a halt and she forced a sigh, her eyes on the ground and not on the insanely tall No. 1.

"... Thanks for trying to assure me and everything, All Might... And trying to give me props..." Spirit mumbled dryly, he blinked at how... _Forced_ the thank you sounded, almost.

She shook her head, grimacing as those blood-red eyes of hers moved up and locked with the blue of the No. 1. "... But I think both you and I know that Stain could have easily done much worse to me than he did. He could have inflicted a fatal injury on me if he chose to, but he didn't. I wouldn't say I'm his equal, I just wasn't the person he was after to start with, and he didn't see the point in really trying to kill me... That rings more that he was my better, than it did that we are matched."

There was a brief pause after she said her piece and the No. 1 hummed at the words, his infallible smile wiped clean and just quiet. And then the smile returned and he laughed, just once- and not really amused, it was more just for show than anything... That damned persona of his.

"You give yourself far too little credit, Animal Spirit!" He told her, she blinked, her expression nothing but flat. "Regardless if you were his original target or not- I think it more likely he hadn't any real chance to really harm you when you pinned him like that! With how firmly you had him held, and the angle he was at- he might have attempted to do greater harm, but simply couldn't! I doubt he could scarcely move, let alone manage the amount of motor function he would need to do serious damage to you! Which means you had him on the defensive, and the upper hand! That's a testament to your ability more than anything else!"

Spirit just looked at him, her eyes glittering as he said what he wanted, and she wasn't much convinced... But there might be some kernel of truth or sense or whatever in all of that. And maybe she'd been so annoyed and angry with herself and Stain to really look at the situation a different way.

 _... I suppose we were locked together pretty tightly, and with little room between us... And that sword was long, it would have been awkward trying to thrust it upward at me from that angle..._

 _... That doesn't really explain why Stain didn't try and taste my blood right then and Paralyze me again though, it would have been the perfect opportunity- even if I did throw him into a wall nearly straight after..._

So no, not convinced- but it hardly mattered now.

"... Maybe." Spirit mumbled quietly, and it was the only response she could offer.

"Right! Now, I would be remiss if I did not ask you how your injuries are coming along!" All Might went on, switching gears slightly. "Young, strong woman like you- I have to assume you're healing well! Especially given you're out and about and came all the way to UA!"

"... I'm fine." Spirit answered lowly, though inwardly- she kinda sorta hated how many people had been asking that today... Even if it was only two people- she'd been asked by Death Arms about a hundred damned times the last few days.

He gave her another thumbs up and she sighed internally. "Good to hear!" he grinned, "Now, I shall escort you to the main gate! Wouldn't want you getting lost a second time, hmm?" Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling internally.

If she were to be honest- she'd like to just leave him and their conversation behind. She wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea of spending a few more minutes with the (way too bright and exaggerated) No. 1 Hero. But even then, she was already lost, and given what happened the first time, she was likely to get lost again if she tried to keep on by herself.

"... Fine..." She grumbled, her tone not at all pleased- and enough All Might almost faltered at it. He handed her her phone back and Spirit took it back quickly, growling under her breath she'd dropped it in the first place.

"Have I touched a nerve there, mentioning you got lost?" he asked, clearly attempting to make light of the question- given the tone of voice he used. "I must have! Otherwise I'd think you weren't very fond of me- and I couldn't see why! Why would you have reason to dislike me when we've never met?" He chuckled, and Spirit stiffened in surprise, her eyes widening a bit at him.

 _... So he doesn't actually recognize me...?_

He blinked at the way she paused, his head tilting at the sudden silence between them. "Hmm? Something the matter, Animal Spirit?" He asked,

 _... He **doesn't**... I assumed he would just... Know..._

Her eyes dropped a bit, her expression falling utterly neutral.

 _... I suppose not being recognized nor remembered was the point though... Its better this way._

"Nothing." She replied lowly, shaking her head. Her eyes moved back up to him, and she tilted her head away from them. "You said you'd lead me out?" She mumbled, he hesitated half a second like he was going to ask her why she paused- but he just smiled and nodded.

"Yes! Follow me please!"

 **.:+:.**

"... If I can live through this... If I can live through this..."

Her soft words faded into humming, bouncing in and out of actually uttering the words and then just going with the tune. She hardly noticed nor cared she had fallen into muttering the same few lines of the song over and over on a loop- she was more focused on watching the lines of cars and people slowly filing by on the streets far, far below. The sky overhead was a blue slowly turning darker, the lights of the city all around shone steadily more bright as the minutes and hours ticked passed.

She sighed, settled on her heels while balanced on the balls of her feet- perched on the edge of a building overlooking the night life of Heiku and quiet. She'd left UA, All Might, and the whole thing about Interns behind about four or so hours now. And as per her plans, she'd gone on Patrol and kept to high places and out of the sight of pretty much everyone. You know- so she wouldn't get mobbed.

Her hand moved up, pushing her bangs back a bit and then falling on the back of her neck as she sighed- she just looked out over the skyline of the city and for a moment her singing paused. She'd be back to bartending at 6 in the morning, so she had a little over nine hours before that time to just... _Watch, I guess._

Her shoulders sagged, shaking her head at herself as she let her elbows fall on her knees.

 _... Maybe I should just go home... I'm not worth much for Patrol if I can't actually patrol the streets..._

She grimaced, though. Because even if she went home she wasn't sure she could fall asleep, and she had been stuck in her house for several days already, given- oh, speaking of being stuck at home...

 _... I didn't reply to Bird-Brain did I?_

Spirit sighed and pulled out her phone, flipping through to the app and pulling up the conversation- and blinking in confusion when the last message recorded was;

 _'Whatcha doin' out and about with the No. 1 huh?'_

 _What?_

She tapped the screen to open up the messages- and halted when a picture (sent by _her!_ ) depicted All Might grinning and giving the camera a thumbs up.

 _WHEN THE FUCK-?!_

Spirit's grip on her phone tightened, a vein ticking on her forehead as she felt anger bubbling up faster than an elementary student's baking soda volcano.

 _THAT IDIOT SYMBOL OF PEACE TOOK A FUCKING PHOTO IN THE_ _ **FIVE**_ _SECONDS BETWEEN CATCHING MY PHONE AND SCARING ME TO DEATH?!_

 _I FUCKING SWEAR!_

Spirit's jaw clenched, her lips curled and growling- it took everything in her not to let out a loud, agitated, and very exasperated groan.

 _DAMN IT ALL MIGHT_

She huffed, tapping (or more slamming) her fingers against the keyboard as she quickly typed out a reply to the message that had come through several hours prior without her noticing.

 _Hawkward_

 _Whatcha doin' out_  
 _and about with the_  
 _No. 1 huh?_

 _Forget it. That had_  
 _nothing to do with_  
 _you or this conversation,_  
 _and he sure as hell_  
 _should never have_  
 _taken a stupid photo_  
 _on someone else's_  
 _phone without_  
 _permission- not even_  
 _for fucking 'fan service'_  
 _or whatever the fuck_  
 _else he calls it._

She locked the phone again with a huff and let her eyes fall closed.

 _I can't believe I didn't even notice he took a picture damn it._

 _And he sent it to Hawks? Did he do that knowing what he was doing or did he just snap a picture and it sent automatically?_

Her chin fell in her hand as she leaned over a bit, chewing the inside of both cheeks and willing the anger and annoyance to die down some more.

 _Oi... That bloody, fucking..._

Spirit's thoughts broke off, her body growing stiff as a board as something soft brushed against her nose very, very lightly. Her eyes snapped open, her anger completely forgotten as shock and confusion settled in- floating in air before her very eyes was one long, smooth, strikingly vermilion feather. A feather of which was keeping itself aloft even the several stories of midair it hanging was over. And a feather that had been that soft thing to brush against her nose, almost playfully so- like it had a mind of its own, and was some sort of strange creature.

 _Red... a red feather..._

"Ya don't sound too pleased with the Symbol of Peace in this message, Sunshine." A voice said lightly from behind her, Spirit's eyes widened. She turned, standing up straight and still standing on the edge of the building. The feather turned with her as she did so, floating forward as it stayed at her shoulder- and she glanced up to see the owner of the feather floating overhead. He had one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone, his eyes on the device and reading the message she had just sent, instead of actually looking at her. "Most people would kill to meet him, let alone get a pic." he added casually, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek.

 _I didn't even hear him coming-_

Hawks' eyes finally moved up from his phone and toward her, glinting under his visor as he took in her appearance more clearly. "Ooh, I see you're rocking your old costume~!" He smiled, placing his phone and his hand with it in his pocket like the other one. "Your regular Uniform got wrecked when ya fought with Stain, huh? It's been a few days though, would have figured it had gotten fixed by now~"

Spirit sighed, grumbling under her breath as he dropped down and his feet hit the roof. "... It takes awhile." Spirit muttered lowly, he tilted his head at it, but let it be.

"Well~! It's good to see ya again, Sunshine~! Missed ya the last the last week~!" He hummed, "How ya doin'~? We didn't finish our conversation from earlier~!" He smiled, almost crookedly. "You're real bad at that keeping up with and answering messages thing, huh~? Not that I mind, just pointing it out~" he shrugged.

His hand lift from his pocket and his childish flare dulled down a bit as he gestured toward her and the feather that was floating at her side got closer- and brushed along her cheek under the cut traced into her skin. Spirit instinctively recoiled at the contact, just a little bit- but the feather persisted regardless for a few seconds more.

"Shame Stain did that to such a pretty face, the dude's heartless." Hawks sighed, Spirit's jaw snapped shut at the comment. "You'll still be pretty if it leaves a scar though, and you'll look more badass to boot- not that I'm sure you could be any more badass than you already are. You sure showed everyone that." He hummed, Spirit felt her face heat up and she _hated_ it.

The feather twirled around her, brushing softly against her arms, her legs, and her sides, almost... _Is that Feather-fuck feeling me up with his Quirk?!_

Spirit's hands snapped forward and her fists closed around the feather, ruffling it but not at all hard enough to snap the spine. Hawks jumped at the action of her hands clapping around it- his face falling and looking almost stunned and maybe even a bit mortified she had been so rough with it at all. He went stiff as a board, almost like he was bound as tightly as the feather itself- Spirit huffed, holding the feather hostage as she shot him a look.

"Quit feeling me up, Bird-Boy." She snapped lowly, he looked almost offended.

"I was not feeling you up! I was checking your injuries!" He whined, the feather squirming in her hands now.

"Well _quit_ , I'm fine." Spirit grumbled, "I don't need to be poked and prodded, you'll just piss me off."

"Okay, okay, _fine_! You can let go of my feather now!" Hawks said quickly, looking exasperated and almost uncomfortable. "You're squishing it to death Spirit..! It's not a nice feeling ya know!" Spirit huffed again but did as he asked, the feather zoomed over toward Hawks and he caught it gingerly, pouting now.

"... Rude..." He mumbled under his breath.

 _What a child_

"I thought your Quirk was 'Mighty Wings'." Spirit grumbled, her hip cocking as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You send those things out to catch people and through fires and all manner of situations where they get mucked up, and you're pouting because I grabbed it a little roughly?"

"Well yeah, but when I do that I'm sending them out with the intention they're gonna get messed up!" Hawks told her, "They're usually super hard, and sharp to boot- but I kept this one softer, so it's like an actual feather! If I hadn't you'd have totally cut your hands grabbing it just now!" He puffed, "And when I let them stay all soft and fluid I can feel more through them and gather info easier! Even if they're separated from me I can still feel things through them ya know, and you were _rough_ Spirit!" He whined, Spirit simply quirked a brow at him, her expression unreadable.

"So what you're telling me, is that your wings and your feathers are _sensitive?"_ Spirit asked flatly, he stiffened, his face flushing in a sudden and unexpected show of embarrassment. "Bloody hell Bird-Boy, you sound like a child." Spirit sighed, shaking her head at him. "But fine, whatever- _sorry_ for being rough with your goddamn feather. But maybe next time you'll keep your feathers to yourself- 'checking for injuries' is not a very good cover story ya know."

Hawks let the feather go and it quickly replaced itself among the others in his wings. He rocked on his heels a bit and grumbled, quickly trying to regain himself again and shooting her a look that was disgruntled, and a bit offended. "It wasn't a cover story, I really was just trying to see if you were okay." He replied lowly, and Spirit blinked.

 _... Hmm...? He actually does sound... Genuine about that...?_

"I saw the video Spirit, you got hit pretty good by Stain's sword." He went on, his voice losing the whining and the carefree mirth it usually had. "And you've been stuck at home the last few days right? If you got hurt bad enough to warrant having to take time off, I was just making sure you're okay now."

 _... He **is** serious._

Spirit paused, a little taken back by the show of concern out of nowhere and no quite sure what to do with it. She supposed she had noticed a small change in his message from just before All Might popped up around the corner...

"... I told you I was fine, Feathers." She murmured slowly, "And I wouldn't be out here if I wasn't. You don't need to 'make sure'." he paused, looking almost like he didn't believe her- but he left it alone and his smile returned.

"Gotcha~! So, all that being said- what were ya doin' with the No. 1, huh~?" He switched gears with ease, Spirit sighed.

 _So nosy_

"I ran into him. He just wanted to talk about what happened with Stain." Spirit replied lowly,

"Why'd he have your phone, hmm?" Hawks hummed, Spirit grimaced.

"... I dropped it and he caught it." She grumbled lowly, "And apparently he decided that was time enough to snap a photo. I was on Instagram at the time so I guess it got sent to you by accident."

"Ooooh," Hawks hummed brightly, chuckling a little. "So do you know All Might~? I figure you're pretty familiar with him since you're certainly not fangirling about meeting him~! Even most Pros totally lose their minds when they get to meet him ya know~!" Spirit quirked a brow at that,

 _Most?_

She ignored it and shook her head, "No." She muttered, and Hawks blinked in surprise. "We're not friends. I hardly know the guy, and I won't 'fangirl' over him."

"Hmm?" Hawks hummed curiously, but Spirit never gave him a chance to press the subject further. She stepped slowly off the wall off the edge of the building, her feet hitting the roof and her face twisting as pain shot through her side the second her foot touched down. She faltered a bit, stepping to the side and a little less graceful than she intended, her hand moving up on instinct to hold her side gingerly as she grumbled under her breath. She missed the way Hawks' smile shattered at the show of pain, and the way he tensed up to boot. He took a small step toward the No. 26, almost out of reflex- before he reminded himself she wasn't taking the whole 'checking up' thing all that well. So he made himself stay still, biting the inside of his cheek as Spirit corrected and let out a heavy sigh.

"You good there, Sunshine?" He asked, Spirit growled under her breath.

 _"Fine._ Just still a little sore." She replied almost tartly- she had had so many people ask her if she was 'okay' lately and she hated she'd showed any sort of pain at all after having said she was fine already.

 _Damn it_

She stopped a few paces in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest again. "Was there something you needed, Feathers?" Spirit asked dryly, "Or am I supposed to assume you and your feather just happened to find me sitting up here?"

"Is it so bad I stopped to chat~?" Hawks hummed brightly, smiling at her again. "And running into you was coincidence, I swear~! I was just patrolling and happened to spot ya, so I figured I'd stop and say hi~!"

Spirit looked none too convinced and he didn't seem to notice, because he snapped his fingers and pointed at her as if a thought struck him.

"Ooh~! I've got a great idea~!" He smirked, "How about a break, yeah~? We can go grab some food, or a drink- whatever ya want~! You turned me down last time Sunshine, and I didn't mind~ But right now it looks to me like you got some free time~!" He smirked, his eyes glinting as his wings ruffled a bit. "So~? What do ya say~? Think you can suffer through an hour or two with me~?" He chuckled.

Spirit blinked, chewing on the inside of her cheek a little and not answering straight away. He was right of course, the last time he asked she had said no- even though it was her turn to pay, and she wasn't one to not repay other people. She had to pay him back eventually... And now was maybe as good a time as any.

 _It's not like I was doing much, I can't walk around on the streets right now and hope to not get swarmed by people... Oi_

So she let out a sigh, exasperated with herself and the situation- and nodded. "Fine... But only if we go some place we won't get swarmed by fans or media or whatever." Spirit mumbled, her eyes dropping closed and missing the way his expression lit up at the consent.

"That's fine by me~!" he trilled, "How about that Pro Place a few blocks over? It'd been pretty dead this time of night, and the staff'll know better than to bug~" he suggested, Spirit nodded, just once. "Great~! Shall we take off~?" Hawks hummed, his wings unfolding slightly and ready to push off into the air. "I can carry ya if you're too sore to fly~" he added and she scowled.

"If I was that sore, how do you think I got up here in the first place, Bird-Brain?" She shot back lowly, before she dropped down into a crouch, her fingertips brushing against the roof and grumbling under her breath. Her body melted away in a black-red haze of fractured reality and left a black eagle standing in front of him- her wings extending as her red eyes snapped up toward him. He just smiled coolly at her, his wings mimicking her own as she lift off with two powerful downstrokes and started off away from the Building with Hawks close behind.

"Alright~! Just don't push yourself if ya don't need to~!" He hummed, Spirit huffed.

"Shut it. I'm not helpless." She grumbled,

"Never said that, Sunshine~!" He countered with ease, Spirit felt a flash of agitation flare in her core. Agitation that wasn't helped by the throbbing radiating from her torso- though she kept her mouth shut about it.

 _What the fuck is with 'Sunshine'?_

Hawks' eyes shift sideways toward the (now avian) No. 26, The ebony hue of her feathers shone, sleek and smooth and reflecting the lights of the city around them as Hawks flew close beside her- their topmost feathers a few inches apart. His eyes found the small patch of fluffy down and feathers on her center that looked raw and there were stitches poking through- no doubt the injury Stain had inflicted that persisted even in the form of an Animal. You couldn't really see it if you weren't looking for it- but he was.

And despite her assurance she was fine he couldn't really work himself around to just believing her and leaving it at that. For some reason he was hung up on it, and he didn't know why...Well... At any rate she wasn't flying weird, so she must have been fine after all.

He smirked, pushing forward a little faster to get in front of her a bit and turning in air slightly- flying backwards almost. "I know you're not helpless~! You're _badass~!"_ He chirped, his smirk grew more sly and teasing as he caught her red eyes from the side. "-aaaaand pretty~! And grumpy to boot~! And a little hard to please and easy to piss off, and you've got a sort of sadistic sense of humor~! And you're not afraid of telling people off either~!" He told her, his tone full of mirth and teasing and Spirit was very glad she was a bird right now- otherwise she was sure her face would have turned bright red when he said 'pretty' so casually.

 _Oi..._

"But I like all that about you, Sunshine~!" He went on, his wings making currents in the air that caught under her wings like rogue waves, so she self-corrected. " 'Cause even though you're grumpy and stubborn and a bit of a hot-head, you're still interesting~! And you've definitely got that whole 'dark and mysterious with a heart of gold' angle covered to a tee~!" He grinned, his eyes glittering as Spirit shot him a sideways stare and nothing else as they continued to fly.

Flying backwards isn't easy nor really possible, by the way- but he seemed to be having little trouble with it... _He's crazy_

"Hawks, I've been little else but an ass to you since we met." Spirit deadpanned, "What on earth gives you the impression I have a 'heart of gold'? Saving people and helping out in disasters is my job, but that doesn't mean I'm a nice person."

"I know, but if you weren't nice deep down inside- you wouldn't have risked everything to save Ingenium against Stain, would you~?" Hawks replied with ease and Spirit stiffened, "You went at Stain- like _super hard_ \- nobody tries as hard as you did, and says all that heartwarming stuff you did afterwards with the Press, if they don't _really_ care~!" He flipped around to fly normally again, but titled still to keep facing her more directly. "Plus if it was all just a job to you, you would have been more focused on keeping your First-Contact Capture rate intact~! But you gave up that stellar record just to help Ingenium~!"

Spirit huffed, looking away from him. "Oh, so you're not all disappointed I don't have that 'stellar record' over All Might, hmm?" She grumbled, "You were hung up on it to all hell last time we talked, Feathers."

"Heh~?! Of course I'm not disappointed!" Hawks replied quickly, Spirit heard his wings beat faster and she was forced to come to a dead halt in air as he suddenly jumped in her flight-path. Their travel slammed to a stop as they were left hovering over the city in the cool night air facing each other, Spirit growled in exasperated agitation. She was about to snap his head off for stopping her like that but never got the chance-

"Spirit, you chose to save somebody's _life_ over worrying about your image or how it would look for you if Stain got away!" Hawks told her, his eyes flashing as he held her in his gaze. "I'd be _disappointed_ if you put saving someone else beneath keeping some stupid record! You said it yourself- Heroes put their lives on the line because we are meant to be the ones who jump head first into danger and risk ourselves for others! Heroes are the people responsible for making the world a place where people can kick back, relax and feel safe! It's up to us to make the world a better place and a safer one, and in the meantime- it's our job to save and help everyone we can!" he told her quickly, and loudly- almost _passionate,_ and Spirit stared.

"Look, I know I'm really in to all the fanservice and media stuff that comes with being a Pro- but I'd never let any of that, or my 'Image' get in the way of doing my job!" Hawks said, his hand falling on his chest as his eyes flashed. "Truth be told I don't even give a damn about the Rankings, and I think doing my job would be a lot easier if I wasn't so popular- but I can't really change that people like me and I'm not gonna disregard their attention. So I do post things and do photoshoots and sign autographs- because I think being generally liked is important- but all of that is more for making the world more comfortable with me, so that when the time comes and I do have to go out and fight and try and save people- they trust me and know that I'm gonna do everything I can!"

She kept flapping, keeping herself aloft in air and her eyes locked with his- stunned almost.

 _Where... Where the hell did this come from...?_

"I wanna be someone everyone knows and trusts to take care of them- and a way of doing that is being active with the general public, but it also comes with doing my job right." Hawks went on, "And you did your job Spirit. And you totally showed everyone that Stain's not unbeatable- you were badass, and you _are_ a _total badass_ \- and now the whole of Japan and the world knows it. And because of the video and the things ya said to the press- they've all got to see a little bit of the deepdown you- that heart of gold ya got but don't usually let show~!" He smirked at her, the seriousness not fading any but he lightened up a bit regardless. "Dude, the whole of Japan is raving about you right now~! And for all the right reasons~!" He hummed brightly, "So of course I'm not disappointed~! You totally rocked~!"

 _He... just..._ ** _What?_**

She just stared at him, only slightly aware of keeping herself afloat and the silence dragging by quicker as she continued to be lost for a proper response. Where the fuck did all that come from? All that about Heroes and their jobs... And he was totally serious about all of it. Every single second of it- passionate even... And _that's_ why he's a Hero?

 _'Heroes are the people responsible for making the world a place where people can kick back, relax and feel safe... It's up to us to make the world a better place and a safer one, and in the meantime- it's our job to save and help everyone we can.'_

Every Pro had a reason for working through the Hero Course and going through the hell that was Provisional License's and Full Licensing, yeah? They had to have some reason or goal for signing on to be a Hero- something they were striving for and had promised to do... Or maybe even just something they wanted. A lot of them would tell you they wanted to help people and 'make a difference' if they were to get asked- and maybe for some of them, that was the truth. But there were others who did it for fame and fortune, and for the money too- and even some who just wanted the power. All of those being valid goals- who was she to judge someone for why they chose to do this job? That was up to them and she hadn't any real day in the matter- it was their life, their choice, and she left it alone. She hadn't any right to judge anyone else on their reasons for being a Pro, and she stuck to that... But hearing Hawks say all that now, and seeming to mean it... Well-

 _... I... I guess I wasn't expecting... That..._

And she hadn't been, because seeing how he acted and how buried into the Press and the Media he was- she had assumed him wanting to be a Pro had fallen somewhere in those lines of 'fame and fortune and money too'. He was just so carefree, and the air he gave off- it wasn't serious, and she had a hard time imagining him being really serious about anything, least of all about wanting to make the world some place people were safe, and could let their guards down. And him being so serious about being the one to save and help everyone... A noble notion- but given how independent and unwilling (and even terrible) he had proven himself to be with working with other people- it was a dangerous notion too.

All of what he just said, paired with his habits and his attitude- could cook up into being him trying to fix everything all on his own, without anyone's help. Sort of bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders all alone... _That_ was a dangerous notion. And he was probably close to making it habit...

 _... A bad way to go... But maybe... Maybe I misjudged you, Feathers._

"Hmm? I say something wrong, Sunshine~?" Hawks hummed as the silence stretched a little too long for his liking. Spirit blinked, her thoughts shaking off the slowness they had adopted and grumbling at that- the nickname.

 _Why does he insist on calling me that...? Oi..._

"... No, I'm just surprised." She mumbled, he tilted his head.

" 'Bout which part~?" He asked with ease,

"Is that really why you became a Hero?" she asked quietly, and he smiled.

"Of course~! Every Pro's got a reason for becoming a Hero, and I'm totally serious about all of what I just told ya~" he replied with the utmost ease, Spirit's eyes narrowed slightly. "But ya shouldn't be so surprised, Sunshine~! I bet your reasons for becoming a Pro are just as good as mine~!" This time her eyes darted away from him all the way, her expression pulling (what little it could really, seeing as how she was in the shape of a bird right now...) as she let out a sigh that was... Agitated, in a way.

"Don't count on that, Feathers." Spirit muttered lowly, her tone rueful and Hawks' grin broke away in surprise at the sudden change.

"... What do ya mean...?" he asked out of complete reflex rather than common sense, and she huffed.

"Learn to take a hint, _Hawks_." she shot back lowly, her tone a growl and he shut up really quickly at that.

Spirit wove around him in air and started flying again, leaving him behind as he struggled to regain himself again and follow her. Spirit felt anger and hate and things long-since buried swirling suddenly alive in her core. All of it- and just at a single thought...

 _... Why did I become a Hero?_

 _I hate that question_

 _I hate it because my reasons are all tied up in a big mess that I just fucking hate_

 _And now he brought it up, and I let it go far enough to- ugh, now I'm thinking about it, and the more I do that, the angrier I get!_

She was only faintly aware of Hawks somewhere behind her, lagging now and now actually taking the 'hint' after she said something, and being quiet. It was clear enough there was a nerve that got touched, though he hadn't a clue why. She cast a small glance over her wing to see him flying with his eyes locked on the ground far, far below. His smile and his carefree air was gone now and he just seemed subdued... _Oi_

 _... That might have been... A bit bitchy of me... I am a bitch though... Just... I'm usually not so quick to snap at people..._

She glanced back ahead, her anger deflating slightly as clearer thought trickled in.

 _... And knowing him, he asked out of curiosity- and he wouldn't know it's a sore topic anyway... So I just snapped at him because I'm worked up about something he doesn't even know about._

She shook her head at herself, slight inklings of guilt replacing the anger now as the silence seemed to weigh heavier. _Guilt_ for fucks sake.

 _Uuuuughhhh... Why I even care...?_

"... I'm sorry for being an ass, Feathers." Spirit called over her shoulder quietly, her flying slowing up just a little. "... I get you're trying to be nice and sincere and everything, even if you come off as a child for the most part... And it's not fair for me to be such a bitch to you for asking a simple question... So, sorry." She missed the way his eyes flashed at the apology, his expression surprised. She paused though, grumbling internally as she eyed the buildings they were passing over with ease. "... the reason I became a Hero was just to spite someone... And the world too, maybe." She explained quietly, he blinked in question at the words. "So comparatively, it's nothing like why you became a Pro... And no, I don't wanna get into it. I'm only telling you because I snapped at you unfairly, Feathers."

Hawks paused, his eyes trailing along the ridge of her shoulders and her wings- she was still ahead of him even though she'd slowed up a little. And she didn't look back at him as she said any of that either, and he doubted she would as long as they were still on the subject... _She became a Hero to spite someone? Who?_

She needn't tell him not to press the subject though, he realized she didn't want you get into it instantly- and though he did wonder, he would give in. And he might have told her that her reason for doing it wasn't any less than his- since she clearly felt that way, but he thought if he did she might get angry so he didn't do that either. 'Taking the hint', as it were.

 _Spite someone... And the world huh...? Spite them about what I wonder..._

"Hmmmm... Gotcha." he hummed, his smile returning once more. He'd said she was interesting, right? Well there wasn't a doubt about that now~! She was more mystery than he realized- and he wanted to know more, but he had to take it slow- he could keep prodding and pressing, but he would take it in stride- so slow it was... even if 'slow' wasn't really his style.

"No worries Sunshine, we can talk about something else~!" He trilled brightly, "I'm sure there's plenty of interesting topics we can discuss between us over dinner~!"

"Why do you insist on calling me that?" Spirit muttered dryly as he pushed forward faster to fly level with her again.

"It's a nickname! I figured I might as well give you one, since you've already decided on one for me~!" He murmured brightly,

"Most of the things I call you are more aimed to be a jibe than a nickname." Spirit mumbled,

"I don't know, 'Feathers' sounds like a nickname to me~!" He hummed, Spirit rolled her eyes a little.

 _... I guess... but I just started calling you that without thinking about it, it wasn't a conscious choice..._

"Nicknames usually describe the person they are given to in some way." She pointed out evenly, "There is nothing 'sunny' about me. I'm not cheerful, or overly kind or even _bubbly_ \- I'm about as far from being a ray of sunshine as anyone can be." She mumbled, "And my Quirk couldn't be described as bright or warm or anything of the sort either."

"Hmm, but that's sort of the point~! It's a good nickname because it's the opposite of what everyone assumes about you~!" He chuckled, "And you're not _all_ doom and gloom, no matter how you act- I like it because I know you've got that heart of gold hidden deep down~!"

 _... Him and his damn 'heart of gold' nonsense... Oi..._

"... I think you need to come up with something better, Feathers..." Spirit sighed,

"Hmm..." Hawks hummed, looking thoughtful for a moment. "... I still like 'Sunshine', but since ya asked, I can at least give it a go for you, Spirit~!"

... _Yay..._

"... Whatever... But I swear if you try calling me by something stupid- I'll claw your eyes out." Spirit muttered lowly, he chuckled.

"I'll do my best, Sunshine~!"

 _...hopeless... Really... Really, hopeless..._

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Thank you all for reading~!**

 ****There is some Art of Spirit and her Hero Costume for this Chapter! Go to my Profile Page and click the link to my DA to see it! It's Titled "Old"**

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	9. Chapter 9- Justify

**Chapter 9**

 **Justify**

 **.:+:.**

 _"... Sunshine... can we chat for a minute, yeah~?"_

 _He sounded like he tried so, so hard to make his voice cheerful- but it didn't work, and he just sounded guilty, and sullen._

 _Good. He should feel fucking guilty._

 _This is his fault_

 **.:+:.**

"... Mm... How about She-Wolf? Ya can turn into a wolf, yeah~? I saw ya do it in the video with Stain~"

"Do not call me She-Wolf."

"Yeah, that one doesn't sound right~" he mused, unperturbed with the small glare that Spirit shot him across the table they were sitting at. The restaurant around them was quiet and there were few other Pros in it (you know, since it was one of those places reserved for Pro Heroes only). Despite the small number of people and the aim that this restaurant be some place where a Pro could go and not get hounded or mobbed and have some semblance of normalcy and privacy, however- she could still feel people looking at her, and him... _Both_ Hawks and her.

Hawks was just popular all around, but even other Pros couldn't help but keep casting glances back and forth at her. She was the one who went head to head with Stain and walked away from it where no other Hero had. And she had made that 'speech' to the Press about a Hero's job and all of that had been taken up by so many other Heroes... She was a hot topic right now, even with other Pros. So yes, they kept staring at her and she was sure a few of them were muttering things too. She was just glad they had the better sense and manners not to try and come up and say anything, lest they interrupt her meal and whatever weirdness it was that had _Animal Spirit_ out and eating dinner with _Hawks._

Oh yes, that was another reason they were staring and mumbling and there was quiet chatter all around. Because what could be more interesting than seeing Animal Spirit out and about after what went on- then seeing her with _Hawks_ of all people, and looking so familiar with one another?

To anyone it probably looked like the No. 26 and the No. 24 were _friends_.

 _And we're not... But rumors will start running anyway... Damn it._

Going out in public with him to eat seemed a bad idea now.

"Mmmm... Speaking of though, you have a lot of animals you can change into, huh~?" Hawks changed gears with ease, smiling as he tapped his finger against his glass. He was sitting cross-legged in the booth across from her and his wings tucked tightly against his back as he leaned over with his elbows on the table top. His one hand was constantly playing with the glass in front of him, moving it, tapping it- you name it. He just couldn't sit still, and he also couldn't stop asking things and talking.

Spirit was leaned back against the cushion of the booth across from him, one knee crossed over the other and her arms crossed about her chest as she simply watched him, her own drink (water actually) was left untouched on the table in front of her, and they were waiting on the food that had been ordered. She blinked at the question but didn't reply, because sure enough- he wasn't done talking.

"Ya never really change between three or four different sorts of animals~! A cat, a bird and something heavy and strong like a rhino are your go-to forms, hmm~? Makes sense, but no one ever gets to see all the things you can change into, but you changed into a bunch of different ones when you were fighting with Stain~" He hummed, "A cat and a wolf, eagle, rabbit, goat, jaguar, some sorta feral dog, and a snake, and all of that in one fight~! Your 'repertoire' is pretty big, huh~?"

Big yes, but it did her little good if she couldn't change into more than three in a short time period without getting sick... _He doesn't need to know about that part._

"I suppose." She mumbled lowly, he nodded brightly.

"Ooh, I've got another question, it's been bugging me a little ~" he switched gears again, "So Stain's Quirk paralyzes people when he manages to get some of their blood, yeah? He totally got you right off the bat, but you broke free of it super fast and didn't get caught up again, huh~? What's with that~?" She paused, it was a valid question and a lot of people had been wondering about it, the police especially.

Her eyes dropped closed as she let out a small sigh, "... different species of animals have different blood types than humans do. When I changed into a different animal, it would have a different blood type than the blood that Stain consumed previously... In essence, it would be like I was an entirely different being." She explained lowly, "The nearest I could figure, that's why I got out of the Paralysis to begin with. And I made sure to Shift into a different animal every time he cut me, and kept from changing back into something he'd already consumed the blood for."

His eyes gleamed as his expression flooded in wonder and surprise, but she missed it since her eyes were closed. "So you're sayin' your Quirk changes everything about you~? Like your _whole_ biological makeup~?" He asked in an instant, Spirit paused.

"... Right down to the DNA." She mumbled, "You couldn't determine if I was Animal Spirit or an actual cat if you just looked at physical and biological things. If I leave DNA behind when I'm Shifted, it's the DNA of an actual animal- a perfect copy... Besides coloring, and the fact I can talk." She elaborated softly, low enough so no one else heard anything. "... There's no genetic difference. When I Shift into a cat, I'm an _actual_ cat... When I Shift into a dog, I'm an actual dog... You get the point."

"That's way cooler than I thought~!" He chirped brightly, Spirit glanced up again to see him looking like a kid in a candy store. "I just figured you were more like a modified human image of all the animals, but you're literally changing every single smidgen of your body into something else, and in rapid-time~!" He smirked, "Your _DNA~!_ You alter your DNA and make it into the DNA of something else ~! That's super cool~!" He looked quite excited about the information- he _was_ excited- and she would have snapped at him to quiet down in an instant, only... He wasn't actually being that loud. He seemed to have taken her silent cue of keeping her voice low and did the same without having to be told.

"Oh, I get why your Uniform is taking so long to repair~" he mused, his cheek leaning in his hand as he chuckled. "It's gotta be made up special and everything so when you use your Quirk you don't worry about losing your clothes between forms, huh~?" He asked,

"... Yeah, that's the gist." She replied. _That and-_

"A good plan, though I don't think anyone would complain if they got to see ya naked just once~" he smirked, Spirit stiffened as her face flushed.

"Shut your trap, you bloody fucking perv!" She snapped hotly, he waved a hand nonchalantly at the now seething No. 26, still smiling.

"Hehe, you don't need to be so embarrassed Spirit, I already told ya that you're pretty-" he hummed,

" _Hawks_ , I'm gonna claw your eyes out if you do not shut up, _right fucking now_." She cut him off, red eyes flashing as she leaned forward, her fingers digging into the table and fighting the urge to Partial Shift and give herself some actual claws. He seemed all the more amused by her anger though, but he stopped anyway.

"Alright~! I'll quit for now~!" He chuckled lightly, Spirit growled and shot him one last glare before pointedly looking away from him again- and waiting for the heat in her face to die down.

 _I hate him_

"How about I call you Vex?" He asked,

"No." Was the short reply, he shrugged. His phone buzzed and she was saved his incessant chatter for a little while as he picked it up to see what notification the buzz had signaled. Spirit's eyes moved toward him from the side, watching as his eyes moved as if he was reading something and soon enough he smirking at he screen and looking... _Pleased._

"What the hell are you grinning about?" She muttered,

"Hmm~? Jealous I'm not paying more attention to you, Spirit ~?" He quipped lightly, she scowled, and he only chuckled in amusement at the look. "Well, since you're so curious-" he hummed, turning his phone around so she could see the screen.

His screen showed the figure of a large, tall man with flames surrounding him and his face in the form of a beard, standing with his arms crossed and looking _cross_ , with a multitude of people tied up and banged up around him.

"-Endeavor just totally took on a group of Villains with about 30 people and beat 'um all on his lonesome~! He's a few Wards over and he finished everything in about ten minutes~! Pretty par for the course though, he's not the No. 2 for no reason ~!" Hawks explained brightly, saving Spirit having to read the headline or the article underneath it. "He's super efficient, and that's coming from someone like me- but Endeavor's not just that, he's strong as hell too~! There's not been anyone who could beat him~! And I doubt there ever will be someone who can- Endeavor's the sort of guy who doesn't go down for anything~" He flipped his phone back around and started scrolling the page down, smiling still and continuing to talk.

"Even if he does eventually meet someone who's a real pain, you can be sure he'll keep fighting until he's won~ Endeavor doesn't back down, that's a part of what makes him such a great Pro~" Hawks hummed, still smiling to himself. Spirit blinked, her eyes narrowing slightly at the No. 24 as he continued on about Endeavor and with his... _Praises_. And the way his eyes were gleaming as he talked about the No. 2- he almost _lit up_ , and it wasn't just his carefree demeanor or his joking one. He was genuinely enthused and serious about what he was saying. There was almost a sort of boyish innocence in him, and quiet, soft admiration for the No. 2.

When he complimented her (barring how serious he was a few minutes ago when she commented about him being disappointed about her First-Contact Capture Record...), he was so bright and cheery. They were the same age and in some respects, on the same level. But this? About Endeavor?

This wasn't that, this was real. This was something like someone talking about a person they looked up to, and maybe even had looked up to for awhile... Endeavor wasn't a young Hero, but Hawks surely was. Maybe it wouldn't be a stretch to think Endeavor had been something of an inspiration when Hawks was training to be a Pro.

 _... Huh..._

"Even if he's not real likable with the Press or Media or anything, he's still a damn good Hero and his gruffness has it's own charm too~" he chuckled a bit to himself, his eyes darting from his phone and leaning his cheek in his hand as he smiled at her. "Sort of like you, Spirit~! I suppose I like that gruff charm about both of you~!" he said lightly, she bit the inside of her cheek. He let out a small breath, waving a hand a bit and his smile fading a bit from the life it had- only a little.

"I bet all I just said probably sounds out of the norm though, lots of people really bash on Endeavor for not being more friendly~" He murmured, almost as a joke. "His personality is the biggest hang up people have, they're always on about him not being 'more like All Might'~ And I see why they'd be hung up on it, don't get me wrong- the guy's the Symbol of Peace, everybody loves him and his bright and shiny personality is a big draw~! But even if Endeavor's not the most friendly or fan-oriented guy, he's still super good at his job and he kicks ass~! General popularity is important for every Pro, and he's certainly popular~! He's a great Pro even if people wanna grumble about him~!" Spirit just blinked, her expression neutral and quiet as she listened to him continue- only to get interrupted when their food was delivered to their table.

"Here you are." The waiter murmured, setting the plates down and Hawks shot the man a signature smirk.

"Thank you~!" He hummed brightly, his eyes gleaming as he looked to the stack of yakitori on the plate. _Oh yes_ , of course that was what he ordered by the way. He was obsessed. Like really, _really_ obsessed.

Spirit murmured her own thanks as the waiter set down a bowl of noodles in front of her and walked away. Hawks plucked a skewer of yakitori up from his plate and clapped his hands together with the end of the stick between them, smiling her way.

"And thank _you_ for the food, Spirit~!" He told her brightly, she nodded.

"... You're welcome.." She mumbled, he was already biting into his food.

"So anyway~! Back to what I was saying~" He started up again, talking around his food as Spirit pulled up her chopsticks and kept her eyes on her bowl instead of him. "Endeavor's got a lot of raw power and he's good at using his Quirk and not roasting people and cities accidentally~ Lots of other Heroes have power, but they can't ever let loose or they risk causing too much damage~! Damaging things is expected as a Hero, that's why we got Insurance to cover us when things do get too out of hand- and Endeavor does fry a city street every now and then, but comparatively speaking- he could be a lot worse~! The fact that he isn't just goes to show he's got a lot of control on his power, and could easily rival All Might in that category~!"

Spirit curled the noodles around her utensils and sighed internally, _he's really good at going on a tangent, hmm?_ _But this time especially... I know he's obsessed with yakitori, but this almost makes me think he might be a little obsessed with Endeavor too..._

"And I think that whole thing about All Might being the reason that Japan has a crime rate of 6% isn't exactly right~ Ask any Villain and I bet they'd be just as afraid of going head to head with Endeavor as they would be going against All Might~! If not more so~" Hawks continued, chuckling to himself. "All Might's a power-house and all, but because he's so cheerful all the time he's not always as much a daunting figure as Endeavor is, and that in itself is super useful~! If you have more Villains wary of you, the less chance they act out~! And I think Endeavor's whole persona is perfect for him, and is what Japan needs to balance out All Might's personality~" he murmured around his food, and looking content as content can be. Spirit just resigned herself to eating quietly. He wasn't likely to stop talking until he asked a question of her, and seeing as how the current topic of conversation was Endeavor, and the No. 2 had nothing to do with her- she would have time enough to eat her food.

 _... how he manages to keep stuffing his face and talking at the same time is a mystery though..._

"And any way of making a world where there's less Villains out causing trouble is good with me~" he chirped, "If there's less people willing to cause mayhem that means less chance for other people to get hurt, and overall things would be more relaxed for everyone~! Eventually I'm sure Endeavor will even outrank All Might~!"

 _That's a big thing to ask for though... Even with Endeavor as the No. 2, there's still a considerable gap between him and All Might..._

"Of course if that happens, it probably means something happened to All Might- and that's not exactly a pleasant thought. So hopefully it'll never come to something like that... He does have merit as being a sort of leader that other Pros can look up to." Hawks added in a bit less cheerfully now, the conversation suddenly turning more serious out of nowhere and Spirit paused in her eating. She glanced up at him but he was looking at his food as he spun the skewer between his fingers a little, "It's not really something I think a lot of people could even imagine, since everyone sees All Might like this sort of invincible guy that can't be beaten- but he's still human, yeah? Things happen, people get hurt, get old- the works. He won't be around forever, some day he's not gonna be here to save everyone. And everyone is so dependent on him right now though, it'll be hard to keep things running without him... We'll get there eventually, I don't doubt it- but we'll need someone else to step into that role of leader, and if rank holds, Endeavor will be that someone." He murmured, Spirit blinked.

 _... Sounds like he's thought about this whole 'no more All Might' scenario a lot, huh...? Another thing I wouldn't expect from you Feathers... Another thing in a list of things I hadn't expected, and you keep showing me different..._

He smiled softly, letting out a small sigh as his eyes dropped closed and his cheek leaned into his hand a bit more heavily. "Lots of people are gonna grumble about it- it'd be a super high standard to hold him to, no doubt... Maybe even impossible~" he hummed softly, "Though I think Endeavor's totally capable of being that leader, he's just gonna have to settle in to his own routine when the time comes... He probably won't be the next 'All Might', and that's fine~ He'll just have to be him, and who knows- maybe _Endeavor_ will be the one we need and not another All Might~" he paused for a few seconds as if he was silently musing to himself, before he shook his head a bit and smiled more. "Anyhoo~! I've probably rambled about all that enough, sorry to talk your ear off about such out of the blue stuff, Spirit~" he smirked, glancing at her again and catching the utterly flat expression she had. "You're a super good listener ya know~! And I sorta figured you'd not really get super upset or anything if I brought all that up- you seem like you'd be pretty open-minded and levelheaded about a bunch of topics~! But even then, all of that _was_ a little out of nowhere~! I doubt you've ever really thought about All Might and a situation like that, hmm~?" he asked brightly, and clearly a rhetorical question, he already assumed she never had- and he would be right.

Rationally she was aware that some day All Might would no longer be around. It made sense, he _was_ human, and either by death or old age or whatever, some day he would no longer be there. However she'd never really thought about the future of there being no All Might, not once... Because quite honestly, it was an unpleasant thought, for many, many reasons.

It surprised her that he had thought about the future like that though. He didn't seem the sort to plan or think ahead, but he clearly had. It was more rational and thoughtful of him than she assumed he was capable of.

 _... I might have_ _ **really**_ _misjudged him... For all his childish behavior and idiotic tendencies- he's not as oblivious or shallow-minded as he seems._

 _But what's that? He 'sorta figured' that I'd be 'pretty open-minded and levelheaded about a bunch of topics'? What gave him that idea? I've been pretty argumentative and confrontational the whole time he's known me. Why would he just assume I'd be rational about anything?_

She shook that thought off and focused on her chopsticks instead of looking at him, even when she garnered a reply to his question. "I generally tend to stay away from wondering about when someone is either gonna die or _have_ to retire, so no- I've never really thought about All Might not being around." She murmured quietly, "I am surprised you've even bothered to think that far ahead though, Feathers... But as a word of warning- if you go talking about all of that with anyone else, you probably will get smacked. Even _musing_ that something bad might eventually happen to All Might is something like heresy in this country." She sighed, "Plus it's just generally depressing, and a bit morbid- not that you don't have a point, Feathers. You're not wrong, realistically things will change and nobody can rely on one person forever." she added, he blinked. She set her chopsticks down across the edges of her bowl and glanced up at him for the first time since starting to talk. "However I'm interested in why you seem to think I'm so 'open-minded'." She mumbled, "You hardly know me, Feathers. What makes you assume I wouldn't get all huffity if you started talking about all of this?"

He smiled at the question, "Ah, I think you just proved the point, Spirit~" he chuckled, she shook her head.

" _Before_ I said anything just now, and clearly didn't get all wound up." She corrected, "You assumed I would be level-headed before I proved I was, but I wanna know why you just figured I would be." He nodded a bit, seeming to go into thought a moment and still smiling slightly.

"Hmm... I dunno, really~! I guess I just had a feeling you were like that~!" He replied lightly, she grumbled internally.

"Well that's a hell of an answer." She muttered dryly, he smirked.

"Maybe it just goes to show I know you better than ya thought~!" He chuckled,

"Doubtful."

"Ah, come on Spirit~! I think things are going well between us~! Don't you~?"

"Hmph, you're less annoying than I assumed." She replied flatly, he smirked.

"Hehe, such high praise! Does that mean we've moved passed the 'uneasy acquaintances' stage~?" He hummed, she sighed.

"... _Maybe_." She mumbled, her eyes dropping closed as his eyes glittered and he smiled a bit more. "And do be aware that next stage after that is _not_ 'friends'- more the relationship is 'professional' instead."

"Gotcha, but we're still moving up at least~!" he hummed brightly, Spirit let out a silent breath. She crossed her arms over her chest again as he paused long enough in his talking to eat some more of his food, grinning like an idiot still and humming some soft sort of tune under his breath as he did so.

 _Well he looks pleased... What a child._

"By the way, what's your take on all that~?" He asked next, she quirked a brow. "Ya know, about someone eventually replacing All Might~"

"I told you Feathers, I've never thought about it." She murmured,

"I know, but you said I had a point- which means you're not _totally_ against the notion of All Might having someone to replace him." He murmured, "As long as you're open to the notion, why not give it some thought and give an opinion~?"

 _How pragmatic of you Feathers..._

"My opinion would be biased." She mumbled, he tilted his head at that. "... Seeing as how I don't think the Rankings are gonna change, Endeavor would be the logical choice, and the one most people would probably turn to if it came to that. But I don't really know him well enough to judge if he would be a good leader." She leaned back against the booth a bit more and let out a small sigh, her eyes falling closed. "... and as it is, I'm not really sure anyone can live up to All Might, regardless of Rank or power or whatever. That'd be a tall order to fill... I'm one of those people who sees All Might like some sort of insurmountable force, in my own way... He's done things I thought impossible, and I don't know if anyone can top that... So I can't really be objective about the subject, and give you a good answer..." Spirit mumbled, her voice getting a bit softer as if her thoughts were trailing away. Hawks blinked at her, "... even if I can rationally consider the idea he'll get replaced, emotionally I'm not really in a right place to really wonder on it... And I'm really not the right person to ask on anything involving All Might anyway..." she sighed, his head tilted at the words. Spirit shook her head at herself, her red eyes opening as she looked back at Hawks. "But I'd like to leave this whole 'No more All Might' thing alone now, Feathers." she announced firmly, her tone changing out of nowhere and he seemed to hesitate at it. "I do have a question for you, though I'm pretty sure I know the answer already."

"Oh? Well ask away~" he hummed, almost immediately regaining the composure he'd lost for a second there when she said she wanted to leave the discussion alone. And at least he had the better sense not to prod- it'd be infuriating if he tried even after she clearly said they were changing topic.

"You're one of those far and few people out there whose #1 favorite Hero is _not_ All Might, aren't you?" Spirit asked evenly, he paused. "Everyone has a list of their favorite Pro Heroes- even other Pros. Not everyone comes up with a top ten, but a top two or three is common enough. And probably about 99% of Japan would all answer _All Might_ if they got asked who their all time, #1 favorite Hero is. But not you, hmm?" Hawks smiled slightly, letting out a breath as he leaned his chin in his hand again.

"Color me impressed Spirit, we must really be getting to know each other if ya got me pegged like that~!" He chuckled, she quirked a brow.

"Oh yeah, it was _really_ tough to figure out." she muttered, her tone nothing but sarcasm. "You know, even _after_ you just spent _fifteen minutes_ ranting on about _Endeavor_ being really great, powerful, efficient, and probably having what it takes to be the next leader among Heroes. I totally thought you _had_ to be a true All Might fan- but something told me that wasn't it. Can't really put my finger on it, but there was _something_ that had me doubting it, odd as that sounds." He smiled, his eyes flashing, but his expression pulled slightly too, almost a little embarrassed.

 _Well that's new_

"Alright Spirit, I think you made your point~" He told her softly, "I didn't realize I'd talked that long, I guess I just got super in to it~"

"So you're favorite Hero is Endeavor, hmm?" She mumbled,

"Yeah~! Bit out of the norm, I know~" he murmured softly, how voice lowering out of reflex as he shot her a slightly unsure look. "I get you're real big on All Might, Spirit- and that's totally cool~! He's totally in my top three, I've just always been more an Endeavor sort of guy even since I was a kid~! And I've stuck with it too, even if it's not really all that popular for anyone to not have All Might as their #1~! Guess I like breaking free of all the norms~!" He hummed, and for some reason it sounded like he was trying to _defend_ his decision. And almost like he was unsure if it was really alright saying it out loud... He's actually _nervous_ for fucks sake- and about _this?_

 _What, is he afraid I'm gonna judge him for who he likes better? Why the hell would he care what I or anyone else thinks?_

Her expression must have changed, because his smile faded and he looked a little more unsure than he already seemed, "... Ah, why ya lookin' at me like that, Spirit~?" He asked slowly,

"Why do you sound like you're trying justify your decision, so you don't seem 'uncool'?" she asked flatly, he stiffened. "Honestly, that's what it sounds like." He smiled sheepishly- which was very much not like him.

"Oh, I guess it's just 'cause it's kinda weird in the grand scheme of things..! You _know...!_ Not a lot of people would pick someone over All Might...!" He chuckled, and he sounded _embarrassed_. She'd hardly ever seen him like that, _ever._

And she... _it's annoying..! How does he go around being so cocky and carefree and like he doesn't have a care in the world- only to get embarrassed about admitting who his favorite Hero is...?! He's such an idiot!_

 _You can't go around acting like you don't have a care in the world and then get all worried about something like this-_

"You can like whoever the hell ya want, Feathers." Spirit cut him off quickly, and he jumped a little at how forceful her voice was. His eyes flashed, looking a little taken aback as she let out a slightly irritated sigh. "And you sure as hell shouldn't have to feel like you need to defend your decision. Regardless of it being out of the norm or 'uncool' or even just weird. You like who you like- don't act like you're in the wrong for picking Endeavor over All Might, that choice is totally up to you and it shouldn't matter what anyone else says about it." She muttered hotly, " _Sod it_ what anyone else thinks." She huffed at him, her words near a growl and shaking her head at him as her eyes drop closed.

Hawks just stared, his jaw dropped slightly and eyes glittering at the suddenly so firm Animal Spirit... The woman who didn't hesitate to tell him that he should never have to defend himself and what he liked. The one who told him to 'sod' what others and even the word thought about his opinion... She was so _serious_. Almost like she might even be willing to snap anyone's head off if they tried to belittle what choice he or someone else made when picking someone over All Might. There ignited a sort of die-hard, steeliness in her that could be compared with the drive to 'stand up for what you believe in'... To stand by his choice of favorite Hero and not have to apologize or explain himself- not to anyone.

"You're allowed to choose whoever you want as your favorite- and you don't have to apologize for it, ever." Spirit went on, Hawks' eyes widened a little bit more as his mouth closed, his expression awed, and his attention utterly fixed on her.

He'd mostly refrained from admitting to a lot of people his preference of Endeavor over the illustrious, world famous, Symbol of Peace- because he knew so many people had issue with the Flame Hero. To the general public, Endeavor was a bit of a hard pill to swallow even if he was the No. 2. A lot of people just had a hard time _liking_ Endeavor for who he was, and most only really 'liked' him because he was so powerful. But he liked Endeavor for who he was- even if he was gruff and stern and had some not so impressive PR skills. He'd liked Endeavor a really long while, and he'd honestly gotten used to having to defend why he liked the No. 2 over All Might- lest he really turn someone off and against himself. That habit was what happened now- he tried to make light of it and say he liked 'fighting against the norm' so it would be easier for Spirit (and others before her...) to just accept his choice.

But she... She seemed _genuinely_ _annoyed_ with him for trying to play it off like that. She told him plainly that he shouldn't defend himself- that he didn't have to, and ignore anyone who said otherwise. She was so fiery out of nowhere, and so sincere... She... She just... _Woah_.

He felt like his heart skipped a small beat out of nowhere, and he didn't know why it would. And now he couldn't even think of any reply, words failed him right then and there as he held her in his gaze, and words rarely ever _failed_ him.

"And apart from that- what do you mean 'I get you're real big on All Might, Spirit'?" Spirit muttered lowly, not giving him much a chance to sit and just stare in silence. That glittering blood-red gaze of hers found him again and the utterly stiff posture he had adopted, and she kept going regardless of how stunned he looked. "Honestly Feathers, what part of all that stuff I wrote to you about All Might and that bloody fucking picture he took earlier gave you any idea I even _liked_ him?" Hawks blinked, quiet still as she waved a hand dismissively in air. "I already told you- I won't 'fangirl' about him." Spirit muttered, "I respect his work as a Pro and the people he's helped, but I can hardly stand him as a person- and that's mostly because me, and not him- but the point stands. I'm not 'real big' on him or even at all really. Which makes you trying to defend yourself with me all the more aggravating." She growled, he tilted his head in question and surprise.

"... Ah... So wait a minute, you're one of... Your favorite Pro _isn't_ All Might...?" He asked quickly, leaning forward a bit as she huffed.

"Of course he's not. You're just an idiot and assumed he was." She muttered dryly. His smile returned at that though, slowly, and not at all bothered with being called an idiot. "Do you really think I'd have gotten so worked up about him taking a picture on my phone if I was a huge fan?" She asked lowly, his wings shifted as his smile got a bit wider, he almost looked excited.

"Well, look at that~! I told ya we had a lot in common, Spirit~!" He hummed brightly, "So if All Might's not topping your list, who is~? Gotta take it's not Endeavor, since ya said you didn't know him all that well~"

 _Well he perked up real fast_

"Oh wait, don't tell me~! I wanna guess~!" He corrected, waving his hand at her before she had a chance to reply, and smiling as he let his eyes drop closed as he seemed to go into thought.

 _Guess..? Oi... He is literally a child..._

"Hmm... Edgeshot~?" He asked, Spirit's expression fell flat as she resigned herself to waiting through the next few minutes that would be filled with 'guesses', to which for all of them- her answer would assuredly be;

"No." she sighed,

"Ryukyu~?" He asked without skipping a beat, "Her Quirk's pretty close to yours~!"

"No."

"Selkie~?"

"No."

"Hmm... Gang Orca then~? Ooh, or maybe Crust~?" He hummed,

"No, and no."

"Kay... Then what about that Death Arms guy, huh~? You met up with him after ya got out of the hospital yeah~? You two seem chummy~!" He smiled,

"We're just friends, Feathers, we went to the same high school." Spirit mumbled, "But just because we're friends doesn't mean he's my #1 favorite Hero- and he's not."

"Oh, I didn't realize ya guys went back that far~!" He murmured, "Hmm, okay so how about Yoroi~?"

"No." She answered again and he seemed to bite the inside of his cheek, "Feathers, you will never guess who it is." She pointed out and he smirked,

"But I've barely gotten started~!" He argued brightly,

"I'm not really thrilled with the idea of sitting here waiting for you to list off every Hero you can think of." She replied lowly,

"Well then I'll just try and stick with people I think you'd like because of who you are personally~!" He hummed,

 _You do not know me that well, Feathers_

"Just don't tell me your #1 is Best Jeanist, yeah~?" he chuckled, only sort of joking, but mostly serious... after all, Best Jeanist had, until a few months ago, been Hawks' 'mentor' before the Feathery-Idiot ditched him to 'strike out on his own'. And from what she gathered about how well that decision went over with Best Jeanist- Hawks might actually be just a little unhappy if she said yes.

She sighed though, because Hawks was clearly gonna keep guessing regardless of what she said. "No." She mumbled, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

 _He and Best Jeanist really didn't leave off on good terms, huh...?_

"Wash~?"

"No."

"Is it me~?" He asked slyly, she huffed.

"Are you really looking to get your ego bruised?" she grumbled, he chuckled.

"Hehe, I didn't think I'd be your #1, but I hope I'm at least in your top ten~?" He asked, she just sighed.

"Couldn't say, I don't have a 'top ten'." she murmured,

"Oh~? So does that mean you've got a top three at least ~?" He asked next, Spirit nodded. "Interesting~! Are any of the guys I just mentioned in your 2nd and 3rd spots then~?"

"No." She murmured, he looked surprised.

"Really~? Wow, could have thought I'd have at least gotten one~!" He hummed, tapping his finger against his chin as his eyes narrowed in thought. "Hmm... Seems like I'm gonna actually have to give this some real thought, huh~? Same thing with that new nickname... Guess I'll just have to hit you up when I think up another guess~! In the meantime though, I wanna ask ya somethin' else~!" Spirit blinked at the sudden change in subject- not that she minded, grant you. Like she'd already said, she wasn't looking forward to just listening to him list off things, but what on earth did he want to ask now?

"... Ask what?" She murmured,

"What are you up to tomorrow~?" He asked easily, her eyes narrowed.

"... Why...?" She asked at length, he smiled.

"I told ya I wanted to work with ya, Spirit~! I figured we could Patrol together~" he replied brightly, Spirit paused.

"... Feathers, I'm one of the biggest topics right now after all the Stain stuff. If I'm seen out and about with you on Patrol, we're gonna get swarmed. Constantly." Spirit mumbled, "And we won't get much done in the way of Patrolling."

"Well, we could just stick to the skies ya know~!" He countered with ease, "That way we'd avoid all the Press and whatnot and still keep an eye out on the ground below~"

"Ever persistent, aren't you?" Spirit murmured,

"Its part of my charm~!" He chuckled,

"Yeah, well- 'charm' or not, I'm not sure about it... You'll just have to wait and see if I'm up to it tomorrow." Spirit mumbled, "So sorry Feathers, you don't have an answer for tonight- just a maybe."

"Mmmm, I can live with a maybe Spirit- because a maybe means there's a chance of a _yes~_!" He hummed brightly, his spirits not seeming to take even the tiniest hit. Perpetually cheery, hmm?

She shook her head at him a little and let out a small sigh, her hand pulling her drink closer and up toward her lips.

"... We'll see Feathers... We'll see..."

 **.:+:.**

"Kage, you're back I see."

Spirit glanced up from stacking glasses at the voice, grimacing internally at the less than hidden tone of question in it. She'd expected people at the Strip Club to wonder why she had suddenly bailed for so many days, but in the Redlight District most people had the better sense than the question other people. It wasn't their business and there were so many ways around here in which a simple 'what were you doing?' could land you in a world of trouble... and sometimes hurt. Many people here didn't take kindly to being prodded and the inhabitants had adapted to a 'don't ask, don't tell' culture.

And though the matronly Tenchi didn't specifically ask 'what were you doing that last few days?', it was more or less implied in her tone of voice... And honestly, Spirit wished she wouldn't. She appreciated that 'don't ask, don't tell' culture in the Redlight District, and it was one of the appeals to living here in the start.

Spirit's red eyes trailed sideways and over toward Tenshi, hardly pausing in her stacking of the glasses as she nodded slightly toward the older woman. Tenshi took up a usual stool on the very end and corner of the bar near the entrance, cigarette held lightly between her fingers and heavy-lidded eyes watching Spirit (or rather _Kage)_ intently.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Spirit murmured quietly, "I was stuck at home sick off my ass."

"Jeriko mentioned you'd said you were sick." Tenshi mused, "He also mentioned 'sick' meant a hangover..." Spirit grimaced,

"I told him that wasn't it..." Spirit grumbled hotly under her breath, Tenshi waved a hand dismissively.

"No one will take his word over yours." She sighed, "You're feeling better though?" Tenshi asked, her eyes almost piercing as she looked Spirit up and down, and Spirit did her best not to seem bothered by it.

She'd changed into her bar uniform and put the color contacts in of course, and also made sure that there was no sign nor trace of the bandages littering her person or the wounds she'd earned that anyone would be able to see. Which took a bit of work, she had to keep her sleeves rolled down and the cuffs buttoned of course, but she'd also had to work a bit of makeup magic to conceal the cut on her cheek that was otherwise very visible. Which she had managed, and the relative low-lights in the Club helped... She just had to make sure she didn't accidentally rub it off.

Oh, and she had to keep from reacting to pain or anything that might give away the wound that went _through_ her. Which shouldn't be hard, and really wasn't- she was fairly spared from running in to anyone in her little space tucked away behind the bar, but sometimes moving or lifting her arms or little things were still earning pain, and she had to bite back at it every time.

She nodded at Tenshi, "Yeah, I'm good. Don't worry about me." she replied simply, Tenshi drew a long intake of her cigarette, nodding in return to Spirit's assurances, before letting the smoke back out.

"You heard about what happened with Animal Spirit and Stain, hmm?" Tenshi asked next, and Spirit groaned internally.

 _Of course this comes up..._

"Yeah, I took a look at the video when it went viral." Spirit mumbled softly, the glasses clinking as she continued to stack them. "Pretty violent stuff..." She sighed,

"No kidding, most of the murders around here don't even get that heated- or messy." Tenshi murmured, "Have to give Animal Spirit some credit, though... She's the only Pro to all away from Stain without serious injuries, or end up dead." Tenshi drew in another breath of her cigarette, her eyes dropping closed as she shook her head. "... Shame she didn't catch him, but she did better than everyone else so far. I just hope Stain doesn't come looking for a kill around here, we have enough to deal with already."

"... no kidding..." Spirit grumbled,

"Speaking of trouble, though." Tenshi mumbled, Spirit's hands paused as her eyes shifted from the glasses and toward the older woman, her head tilting.

"Hmm?"

"Some of the customers have gotten a little more handsy lately." Tenshi muttered, "We had to throw out a band of them yesterday when they got too rowdy. It's like they've lost their minds... And I'd bet anything it has to do with Stain getting more popular."

"... he's an excuse for people to do what they normally wouldn't." Spirit mumbled, shaking her head in agitation. "They rationalize that someone else has gotten away with something bad, so they might as well try to get away with their own bad behavior too. Or they justify what they're doing by saying 'he's doing it too, the world has gone to shit, so why not fuck things up further- you only live once!'. It's all fucking stupid though..." She let out an aggravated breath and reminded herself where she was... It was better not to get too worked up, lest _her_ behavior earn questions.

"You live in the wrong part of the city if that's how you feel, Kage." Tenshi pointed out quietly, Spirit sighed.

 _... A good point, but living here has little to do with how I feel or think... It has to do with money, and the culture here._

 _... And more than that... There are people who would think I_ ** _deserve_** _to live here... Many would, if..._

She shook her head at herself, stacking the last glass up and her eyes never finding Tenshi again. "... Maybe." She mumbled softly, and with that the small burst of conversation between herself and Tenshi seemed to die for a little. The older woman cast Spirit a slightly narrowed stare at the way 'Kage's' voice seemed to lower, but she didn't press the issue,

"Ah, another thing Kage-" Tenshi added, almost as an afterthought and Spirit raised a brow in question. "- we have a new girl, she started yesterday." Tenshi explained, gesturing behind her slightly toward where the hallway to the dressing rooms were. "Her name's Okita, she'll be in from tomorrow on, mostly working part of your regular shift and a little of the busier hours." Spirit nodded slightly,

"... alright... I'll introduce myself when she's around." Spirit murmured,

"Do that, she might relax a little if you're nice to her." Tenshi murmured, Spirit narrowed her eyes at that.

"... I take it she's young then? This is her first time working?" Spirit asked slowly, Tenshi nodded.

"Young, and pretty, and inexperienced... she'll learn quickly though." Tenshi mumbled, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek.

 _She'll have to..._

Tenshi said little after that, and nothing more than chit-chat before she got up from her seat and moved away.

Spirit kept herself invested in her work, picking up glasses and refilling them for the ever constant line of patrons in and out the door and stopping at her bar or staying there. It was a particularly slow day, all things considered... and maybe that was for the best.

She had little under two hours left of her shift before another interruption came in, and this time in the form of the buzzing of her phone in her back pocket. She pulled the device up and read the number that was calling, and didn't recognize it. But she _did_ recognize the first few numbers, and what they were regularly reserved for- Police or some other government official... probably as a follow up on the Stain thing, if she had to guess.

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek and set the glass she had in one hand down. She called the attention of the security guard not far from the bar and muttered a quick 'back in a minute, I need to take this call' before she circled around the edge of the bar and headed out the back door to the Club. Her eyes did a quick survey of the area to make sure there was no one around in that dingy back-alley to listen, and when she found nothing but trash and filth she tapped her thumb against the answer button and turned her back on the door she had come through.

"...Hello?" She murmured, taking a few steps forward and toward the opposite side of the alley.

"Hello Animal Spirit, this is Okawa Takamori, I'm the Director of the Night-Hunters, we are a small and largely unknown task-force working under the Public Safety Commission." The voice on the other end announced, getting somewhat straight to the point as Spirit's eyes narrowed slightly at the title.

 _Night-Hunters...? And the Public Safety Commission...?_

"I will make this short, I received your contact number from Dante in the Blacklist Division." Takamori continued on steadily, hardly pausing even a moment- almost as if he was afraid to let the call linger too long. Spirit stiffened though, her eyes narrowing to slits at the mention of Dante and that-

 ** _Blacklist_**

 _What in the fuck is this-_

"We are attempting to pull together assets for a delicate situation, and I would like for you to meet me in three hours, at the Okoe Prefecture in Kyashi Ward." He murmured lowly, "I will explain what this is about to you in more detail when we meet, for now please understand I need the utmost precaution from you. I do not wish to summon you nor order you about, but I would appreciate if you were to cooperate for now. Understood?"

Spirit bit down on her tongue, her grip around her phone tightening slightly as she glared daggers at the graffiti-laden wall in front of her. She'd never heard of this supposed 'Night-Hunter' group or that they were connected with the Public Safety Commission in any way, and yet she knew the number looked official, and this guy on the other end was being way too formal and to the point to not be who he said he was... and she hated it.

 _He talked to Dante, he knows who Dante works for- and shit_

She was answering the summons without pausing for even the smallest of seconds, not even with her questions and the strange situation... something was off, and this seemed important. And with all that in mind, she knew immediately his fast-paced tempo was definitely out of precaution for her call or his to be traced. Secrets and hiding things and whatnot, and she hated it more that that attitude and behavior was not so foreign.

"... yes sir."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

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	10. Chapter 10- Calm

**Chapter** **10**

 **Calm**

 **.:+:.**

 _"... There is absolutely nothing to 'chat' about. I thought I already made myself clear-"_

 **.:+:.**

"... You _what?"_

Spirit grit her teeth, halfway hating herself for letting her tone drop as clearly as it did, and the other half of her feeling justified for it.

Her eyes flashed, red and glittering as she glared at the duo of the man and the woman standing before her- both older than her, both worn faced, dressed in formal, official garb, and grim and utterly serious as she stood there before the both, almost bristling.

Three hours and some minutes ago that man- the apparent Director of some secret Night-Hunters task group- had called her on her mobile and pretty much ordered her here. No reason, no details, just a time and a place and she had agreed even when she knew the instant she walked in and heard the story she was likely to end up where she was now, seething and _angry._

The woman was a surprise- her title even more surprising- but no amount of authority nor how high up on the chain of command mattered for a damn thing after everything those two had explained, suggested, and asked.

Both of them seemed to grimace slightly at the clear amount of agitation in the No. 26's voice and posture, but they did not look surprised.

One half of Spirit's mind reminded her to be polite, but she didn't want to listen to it... But fucking hell, she would look like an emotional and hotheaded idiot if she let her anger get the best of her.

 _Not here Spirit, not now._

But _shit!_

"I understand what this would ask of you, Animal Spirit. But you have an advantage in this situation that other Pros will not." the woman murmured calmly, Spirit bristled more as the word _advantage_ made an appearance.

 _Advantage my ass!_

She bit down on her tongue, her jaw clenching tightly and her fists following suit at her sides.

 _Be calm-_

"You are the most suitable person for this assignment, without a doubt." the woman went on softly, "You are a capable Hero, and you have proven yourself objective to whatever goal that is set before you. This is a dangerous thing we ask of you, in more ways than one- but we ask out of necessity, and not want."

"No." Spirit growled lowly, the refusal almost heavy on the air between them. The woman seemed to let out a silent sigh at the answer, but she couldn't argue. They had _asked_ , it wasn't an order. "Find someone else. I guarantee you can find a Pro who will have an easier time with this than I would." Spirit muttered lowly, "Especially after I publicly condemned Stain and everything having to do with his actions, and anyone else's like his."

The man's eyes trailed toward the woman beside him as she nodded slightly, her arms crossed over her chest. "... Very well Animal Spirit... It is better to have your answer now, since we are so early in even putting together this assignment." The woman murmured, "... If you should change your mind however-"

"No disrespect ma'am, but my answer is always going to be _no_."

 **.:+:.**

 _"-back in black~!"_

Spirit swiped her phone up off of her nightstand viciously, growling under her breath as she got diverted from staring up at her roof in brooding, agitated silence. She'd come back to her apartment and just threw herself on the bed, still in full Animal Spirit garb from having changed into it earlier. She'd opted for coming home instead of going straight on to Patrol so she could just... Chill, and it hadn't done her much good.

 _I missed my window for sleeping today too... Gahh, fuck today!_

 _And I seriously need to change my ringtone!_

(Not that she expected she would, mind you... She'd just complain some more)

She pulled her phone up and in front of her face so she could read the number, half expecting it to be Death Arms, but an unknown number popped up for the second time that day and she blinked.

 _... What is with today, huh...? I'd rather be left alone..._

She grumbled and clicked the answer button, ready to hear the voice of the Hosu Police Chief or maybe even _fucking_ Dante.

"...hello?" She murmured, whilst somehow managing to keep her voice to a not so bitchy tone.

"Animal Spirit? This is Cementoss, from UA. Is now a good time to talk?" came the polite voice on the other end, and Spirit blinked.

 _... Cementoss... UA...Oh... Oh right...!_

"Yeah, now's fine." Spirit answered quickly, her lingering agitation melting as she sat up in bed and adjusted to sit cross-legged. "Is there something I forgot to fill out on the paperwork?"

"No no, all of that was well in order." Cementoss replied with ease, "I'm calling now because most of the students have finished turning in their forms and we've started contacting the Heroes and Agencies they accepted offers from, or otherwise signed up for."

"... Ah." Spirit murmured, her mouth running even when her mind wasn't quite caught up yet.

 _That was fast_

"Yes, so on that note I'm calling to let you know that one of the students you made offers to placed you as their top choice. The other student listed you as his second, but their first choice has already been Accepted and set things up, so there is no worry of overlap on that end." Cementoss explained, "Now that your offer was Accepted, I'll need to go over some more things with you about the student, the schedule you'll be adhering to, fare and other logistical things." Spirit was stiff though, her eyes wide and jaw dropped slightly as she just listened.

 _Wait a minute, one of the kids actually accepted...?!_

 _This is happening...?! I didn't... I guess I didn't expect they would pick me, why would they...?!_

 _S-shit...!_

"You said you were alright with coming back to UA? I understand you were here yesterday, and I apologize for dragging you back out- truth be told we've managed to sort through most of these in very short time." Cementoss went on, unaware of the way Spirit was stunned (and maybe a little freaked out...) on the other end of the line. She swallowed, shaking her head at herself and hating the reaction- thank god her voice sounded steady (somehow..).

"Yeah, no problem. I can totally come back again, no worries." she replied, "Is today alright? I can be there in about an hour and a half or so..."

Not true of course, technically she could be there in like twenty minutes if she flew there, but she said hour and a half simply because she needed to get a few things ready beforehand.

"Yes, that'll work nicely." Cementoss hummed, "I'll see you in a bit, Animal Spirit."

"Yep." Spirit murmured, the phone falling from her ear as she cut the call off, and for a few seconds she just sat there on top of her bed in utter silence.

 _... One of the kids... Said yes..._

 _... I'm going to be hosting an Intern for the next week... I'm gonna have to rearrange my schedule, and allocate the bulk of or even all of my regular hours for Patrol for the Internship instead... And decide what we'll be doing, and where we'll be doing it... And where we'll meet..._

 _... I'm gonna have to call my boss and Jeriko and figure out what times I need to work the bar instead of my regular shift... What even would be a regular day for an Intern? Like 9 in the morning to 5 at night?_

 _... That sounds right... But doing so means I have to work the shift at the bar from-_

She stiffened, her face twisting in a grimace as her teeth grit.

"... I'm gonna have to work nights... I'm gonna have to work the shift where there's way too many people and way too many assholes getting drunk and when there's the biggest crowd and the most girls..." Spirit muttered aloud, a vein ticking on her forehead as she growled. "... And the biggest mess and the most bullshit and I can't just take a week off, I need the fucking money... Fuck me."

She let out an aggravated breath and swung her legs off the bed, standing up quickly and moving away from the bed and toward the (loosely labeled) living room and the desk there pressed against the wall. "... tch... I hate working happy hour... I hate crowds, I hate drunk people and I hate all of them and their god-damn lack of personal space and grabby hands..." Spirit kept on muttering to herself as she put her phone down on the desk and started to fish out a notepad and a pen from the drawers.

 _That's why I work the slow hours! There's hardly anybody at a Strip club at the ass crack of dawn and at lunch time!_

 _I hate working nights... But fuck me I need_ _money_ , _and I'm not dragging some poor kid through the Graveyard Patrol hours from 5-5...!_

"... Tch... Jeriko's gonna be extra interested in why I need to switch my hours with him for a week too... And nights aren't fun, to start with- and now Tenshi said the crowds have been extra 'handsy' lately... Gah...!" She kept muttering to herself, her thumb clicking down on the end of the pen in agitation one too many times. "...tch... It's fine Spirit, you can last a week on night shift. Money is nice, and there's better tips at those hours too... Even if the fucking men are more goggly and touchy and stupid and fucking drunk..." She mumbled to herself in a rather vain attempt to quell her agitation at the idea. "... You'll be fine... Don't get worked up about it... So if I work the Shift from 6pm to 2am I'll be back home by 230-3ish..."

She started scribbling down on the paper, mapping out the times as she tapped her fingers of her other hand against the desk top.

"...sleep from then until 8 or so, and I'd still be getting my usual number of hours of sleep..." Her voice dropped slightly as she kept writing and doing the math in her head. "... And then do the Intern thing from 9 to around 4 or 5..? We'll have to break for lunch in the middle, and maybe dinner too..." She stopped writing and her pen tapped pensively against the paper, grimacing a bit. "...mm... That's seven hours... is that too long? Patrolling usually goes that long but that can be slow... We'd have to avoid Villains as much as possible, the kid won't have a License so confrontation is a no-go... and I wouldn't wanna put him in a situation where he might get hurt, that'd be unpleasant..."

The pen tapped some more as her eyes dropped closed, and she started chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"... There's things I can point out and teach while on Patrol yeah? Things to look for, the logistics of the job, picking your own hours and then agency you work for... As much as I can teach on that last bit, anyway... I'm not a wealth of knowledge on how Hero Agencies work... But keeping in mind the location and the way your Quirk works is a good topic, yeah?" she mumbled, "... I could just ramble really, though I'm not sure how helpful that is... I can teach, right? It can't be that hard, he's learning what goes into being a Pro, and I'm one so I'm knowledgeable on that end... Maybe discounting all the stuff that would come with being in an Agency- but that's not important right now, right...? So I could just lecture on the more practical stuff and walk around, showing things, observing and seeing how they work out in the field? And avoiding any amount of real confrontation with any Villains... small things would be fine yeah...? Helping evacuate people, or setting up barriers until the police arrive...? Sorts of things you would do as a Pro but maybe not always think about..."

Her tapping of the pen against the paper ceased as she bit down on the end of it,

"... we could take time to go somewhere and train for a few hours on one or two of the days... Work on his Quirk and combat skills where needed... I'm fairly good with hand-to-hand stuff, yeah...? And I think I can handle finding ways to improve and build up his Quirk... though finding a place to do any of that might be a bit hard, I don't have an Agency, so I don't have a Training Center... We could hit up a Joint Center maybe... But those are usually pretty full... Maybe just an out of the way place? The Bakanei Park in Heiku is huge, and there's some pretty secluded areas... hopefully things with the Press and the public and everyone else will have calmed down by the time the week starts... It'd be real annoying to have to deal with all of that at the same time as keeping an eye on the kid and trying to teach him..."

She grumbled a little under her breath and paused, grimacing.

"... I'll have to bring supplies with me, since I don't have an Agency or a Building to store stuff at... I'll have to ask the Support Department for that thing..." she mumbled, "...mmm... So I'll need to go to the store... And probably might as well grab a few of those at Support too while I'm there..." She trailed off, frowning at the way her core seemed to twist in nervousness and apprehension the more she talked to herself- and the reality of the situation sunk in deeper.

"... This is a lot... I can teach yeah? I'm not like super social or anything, and I've never done this sort of thing before... But I can do this... Right...?" She asked aloud, her voice dying away and she sighed when the twisting in her core got worse.

 _...aaaaaaaaaaaaand now I'm maybe starting to freak out a little. Shit..._

She forced herself to stop chewing on the pen and wrote a list of supplies from the store and a note or two about what she'd monologued and the things she needed to remember to ask for while at the Support Office. Her mind felt like it was racing a million miles an hour as she thought through about a dozen other things and questioned all of them a dozen times over, where to go, what to do, what she had to offer, what to eat, who she had to call and what other things she needed to get ready and settle for the week of the Internship- all in conjunction with the info and guidelines and whatnot she'd read from the papers the UA Principal had given her... _Crap... There's so much I gotta take care of... Why didn't I start thinking about this before?_

 _Oh right, I didn't actually think either of those kids would accept... I hate myself._

She jumped a little at the sudden buzz her phone gave off, her eyes narrowing in confusion at it as the screen lit up and a notification popped up across the lock screen. Her free hand reached out for her phone as she dropped the pen and folded up the paper she had written on before tucking it away in her suit, whilst simultaneously biting the inside of her cheek as she read the notification.

 _Hawkward: How about 'Kitten'?_

Her phone buzzed again, and that message got replaced with the next;

 _Hawkward: and is your #1 Crimson Riot?_

She rolled her eyes and grit her teeth, opening the phone and the app up as she quickly typed back a reply.

 _Hawkward_

 _How about 'Kitten'?_  
 _and is your #1 Crimson Riot?_

 _No, not Crimson Riot._  
 _And I swear on every_  
 _god there is in this world,_  
 _if you even dare_ _to try_  
 _and call me 'Kitten' I_  
 _will hunt you_ _down and_  
 _maul you and spread your_  
 _limbs_ _out over a forest,_  
 _never to be found again._

She hit her thumb against the send button and then dropped out of the app.

Hawks had been insistent in asking his questions and throwing out his suggestions throughout the day. Every half hour or so she earned a new message and a new guess of her #1 favorite Hero, and then a suggestion on what nickname he should have for her.

Among said guesses there had been Bryzair (not sure what sense that guess made, but whatever), Hound Dog (probably because of the animal related Quirks... again, no), Uwabami (snakes and animals again? He wasn't branching very far), every member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats (probably because cats, hmm? Because she preferred Shifting into a cat?), and then a number of other Pros who were either dead or retired and no longer on the circuit- and all of them (surprise!) having some sort of animal or transformation Quirk.

And as she warned him that he wouldn't be able to guess who it was- Hawks had not guessed correctly in all his attempts.

Now for the most part the nicknames made even less sense, and he was suggesting both plain and actual nicknames (like of the sort with how she had fallen into calling him Feathers), or going the more traditional approach and referring to her on _incredibly familiar_ terms- and she was quickly getting exasperated with all of them... if her threat of homicide hadn't been an indicator of that.

 _Kitten_ (Hell. No.)

 _Spirit-chan_ (He's not my friend, why does he think he can call me that?)

 _Vixen_ (No. Just no.)

 _Ani-chan_ (Again, way too familiar- and too damn forward!)

 _Roo_ (What even the hell is this?)

 _Aka-chan_ (Still not friends... And of course he suggested-)

 _Ebony-chan_ (-conversely, and still- why does he assume he can call me 'chan'?)

 _Minx_ (ugh)

 _Juno_ (where the hell did this come from?)

 _Kuro_ (riiiight, cause you know... every Animal I Shift into is black.)

 _Kuneko_ (a conglomerate of 'black' and 'cat', so _original_... and so stupid.)

... All of which received a hard veto, and he seemed undeterred. At this point it would probably be easier just to give in to being called 'Sunshine', if only to avoid the incessant suggestions.

She cast off Hawks and his persistence as she turned her attention on dialing up a number in the phone and stood with her hand on her hip waiting for the other end to pick up.

"... Spirit, you okay?" The familiar voice of Death Arms sounded on the line in no time at all, and of course he sounded the slightest bit concerned. Why not? There'd been periodic calls from him to her since the Stain thing and with her being on the mend, but never from her to him. The fact that she was calling now probably made him think something was wrong- and while that wasn't technically true, her core was twisted enough that she felt 'wrong' could be an apt description.

"I'm fine, don't stress about me being hurt or whatever, that's not why I called." She told him quickly, and didn't pause for him to say anything back. "I'm calling for you to hopefully say something sage-like and make me feel less like an unprepared mess, and maybe assure me that I haven't lost my fucking mind."

"... And why would you have lost your mind?" He asked slowly,

"Your Agency does those Hero Internship things with UA, yeah?" she asked,

"Yes... I'm slated to have a kid from UA in the next week actually, why?" He replied, Spirit nodded slightly.

"Great. Now quick update- I think I might have failed to mention this through all the... Unpleasantness, from the Stain thing and when we went out for a drink." Spirit murmured, "I ran into UA's principal at the hospital in Hosu, and for some reason I still don't understand he handed me a file of the Hero kids and suggested I look them over and possibly make an offer to Intern a student. Long story short; I was bored and stuck in my house and I read those files and managed to convince myself to give the Internship thing a go- so I made two offers, and one of the kids accepted me." There seemed a stunned pause on the other end from Death Arms, but she kept going regardless. "Now I'm supposed to go to UA and set everything up, and while I would like to tell myself that I have everything under control and a good plan on how things are gonna go- I'm sort of maybe beginning to freak out, just a little. So my hope is I tell you what little I have planned and you tell me I'm an idiot and I shouldn't worry about it and assure me I have _not_ lost my mind and I will not be subjecting some poor kid to a week of working with 'Animal Spirit the most unprepared and completely out of her depth No. 26 Hero!'. Sound like a plan?"

This time she paused and it was clear that Death Arms was either lost for words, or otherwise trying to sift through the slew of information she just blurted out in the course of about a minute. Spirit's fingers tapped impatiently against her hip as she waited for a reply, and the knotting in her core got a little worse.

"... Alright... I think I got all of that, but why would the Principal have offered you up for Internships? These are Agency things, and you don't have one." Death Arms said at length, and Spirit sighed.

"I don't know. I didn't ask at the time, and for the most part the whole I don't have an Agency thing doesn't seem to be an issue." She mumbled, "I just have to handle all the paperwork and stuff by myself... which I suppose would pretty much acquaint me to being my own Agency, just without all the permits and the headquarters and whatever..."

"I suppose." Death Arms murmured on the other end, he sounded less than on board with the turn of events and she knew he wouldn't agree all the way- seeing as how she hadn't planned any of this, and he knew that- and he had always preferred not jumping into things, him or anyone else... Well, too late now.

"So anyway, this is the part where you tell me I'll be fine and I'm not gonna muck up this Internship thing." Spirit murmured,

"... Spirit, you don't like kids." Death Arms pointed out calmly, she grimaced.

"It... it's not that I _don't_ like kids, I just have a habit of not working or interacting with them." Spirit sighed, "... I have no issue with kids, I just might be a little out of touch with the younger generation... But that doesn't mean I won't be nice, or fail to keep an eye on him. I'm well aware that this Internship thing means the kid is my responsibility, and that I have to make sure he learns and feels fine and doesn't get hurt or anything. And it is in every way my intention of not letting something bad happen- and if something does, I'm fully prepared to do what I need to." Her hand moved from her hip as brushed her bangs from her face, "... Not to say I won't probably be awkward as hell the first few hours or even the first day. That's definitely gonna happen- but does being a bit fumbly in the beginning mean I'll suck the rest of the way through? And it's not like this kid is super young either, I'm only a few years older than him. Any student out of UA is old enough that getting along with them shouldn't be a problem, and they aren't mindless five years olds that need hand holding either- they're teenagers, and a few years of from being adults- why couldn't I do well with someone like that? I'm not entirely incapable of getting along with anyone... I get along with other people just fine when I need to."

She broke off for a moment when her phone buzzed in her hand, she pulled it from her ear and looked at the screen to see a notification from Instagram highlighting yet another message from Hawks;

 _Hawkward: oh but I think that one is cute! But I suppose I'd rather not get murdered ~_

She shook her head, her eyes flashing as she sighed but otherwise left Hawks be, "... Besides, you said you were doing it too yeah? You did this last year when a UA kid signed on with your Agency, right? If you can get along with someone of the same age, why couldn't I? _You_ aren't much older than me as it is." She pointed out, "And I think I can handle showing him the ropes of Patrols and talking to him about the details of working with the police and others Pros and whatnot. I have no problems answering questions and helping out, and I chose both the kids based off their Quirk and how well I might potentially work with their powers. So on that end, I have the experience and the type of Quirk that I'd be able to relate to what they can do, and help them tweak things if need be. And I'd only be taking him on Patrols and whatnot through Heiku, since I know it well enough to know what places to avoid and it's familiar territory. I don't intend on getting caught up in a dangerous situation and if it's unavoidable- we either leave or we stick to crowd control and evacuation, but only in minimal risk situations. And if we train or work on combat or anything, we do it out of the way in a secluded place- and I don't push too hard."

She turned a little and glanced up and out the only window in the whole of the space, biting the inside of her cheek still. "And I made the Offer under the terms that it would be part-time hours, so there won't be any need to make sure I have sleeping accommodations. He comes out and spends the bulk of the day with me, and goes home for the night- which works out well since Heiku is so close to where both of those student's addresses were listed, so the train ride to and from isn't terrible. And I'm going to adjust my Patrol hours from 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening for the Internship itself, instead of suffering the kid through my regular hours. I anticipate having to come up with lunch accommodations, and that's fine with me- I wouldn't even mind having to do dinner too, to be honest." She explained, "And seeing as how I don't have an Agency Building to retreat to, we'd also be moving around the city the whole time, so I would have to bring supplies with me... And that's not much an issue either, I can just ask the Support Agency to pull the bag they made for me out of storage while I'm there picking up my Uniform from getting repaired." She paused for a small second when there was yet another buzz, and the first message from Hawks was replaced;

 _Hakward: Ah, it's almost time for Patrol, huh~? You given my suggestion to Patrol together any thought~?_

Spirit blinked, her eyes narrowing at the words as she bit the inside of her cheek. Truth be told, she had more or less forgotten about that whole Patrolling together thing... And being asked now she wasn't sure she had an answer.

But she had to worry about that later, she was busy right now and she turned her full attention back on her conversation with Death Arms.

"... And I realize you don't generally approve of the jumping into new things without planning ahead, and since I pretty much did that I don't expect you to be considerably happy with me about any of this... I know this is out of my norm and I probably am out of my depth, but I'd appreciate some sort of assurance or advice, since I can't really back out at this point." She added, placing a halt in her continual talking so he would have some chance at getting a word in edgewise. "... Ah, and sorry for the rant and all of this out of nowhere... Is this a bad time to be calling you...?" She added as an afterthought, she swore she heard him grumble on the other end.

"... I think you need to stop worrying so much, Spirit." He said at length, and she blinked. "You sound like you already figured out your plan and what you need to do. I think you might be over thinking things a bit, but it's better you figured all of that out now instead of later." He murmured, "And I'm not busy right now so don't worry about that last bit."

"Ah, alright. Glad to have your stamp of approval- even though I completely just thought up all of that in the last ten minutes." She hummed, there was an audible sigh from her friend in return.

"You might have lost your mind just a little when you decided to go ahead with this." He told her, she bit the inside of her cheek and smiled sheepishly. "But I'll blame the pain medication you were taking at the time. For now you really need to relax, even if this is something you've never done before, you should be fine. You'll just have to take it in stride, and don't overthink things- you'll stress yourself out more than you need to." He murmured, "I'll do my best to help you if you need it Spirit, but this is probably something you'll have to learn while doing." Spirit hummed a little with a nod,

"That, aaaand you'll be busy doing your own Internship, hmm?" She said softly, smiling to herself as he sighed again on the other end.

"Yeah." He murmured, ".. If you have any questions, you could call or text me. And I can try and go over things with you tonight, if you want." He offered, Spirit bit the inside of her cheek.

"... ah, I appreciate the offer, and I'll probably take you up on the text and calling portion at some point- but I might be busy later tonight... so I'm gonna have to get back to you on that." Spirit murmured softly, grimacing to herself and hating that she didn't have an answer. Like _really_ hating, because she _hesitated_.

Why was she hesitating to just tell Hawks no? Even just remotely hesitating or musing over it?

 _It's not like I'm in the right sort of mood right now, and I have things to get ready for this Internship... I can't really think and plan with him talking my ear off._

And yet she still wasn't sure about saying _no_ so quickly... _What the hell is wrong with me...?_

She might have asked Death Arms his opinion on the yes or no to Hawks for Patrolling together tonight, but as soon as the thought of doing so crossed her mind, in the very next instant she was reminded that they had already had that conversation before. Not in this exact context no, but more or less the same premise- _working with Hawks._

If she were to bring it up now she was sure he'd tell her to go ahead and Patrol with the feathery-idiot. And while there was no automatic aversion in her core to the idea, there wasn't a complete yes at this point either.

 _... I'll just have to make my mind up after I'm done at UA..._

"Alright." Death Arms murmured, snapping her from her thoughts again. "What kid accepted your offer, by the way? Are they one of the ones from the finals?" He asked, Spirit paused, blinking a few times as it dawned on her-

"... Ah, I don't actually know which one of them it is..." She mumbled, "... I forgot to clarify when Cementoss called..." She admitted quietly, shaking her head at herself. She swore she heard Death Arms sigh again on the other end. "... It wouldn't be one of the kids from the finals though, neither of the two I offered to was one of those..."

"... right. Are you headed to UA now?" He asked instead of scolding her for forgetting to clarify a pretty important detail. Which was appreciated.

"Yeah, in a bit." Spirit murmured, smiling slightly to herself. "Thank you for the saige-like wisdom and assurance, by the way~"

"It's not 'saige-like' more than it is rationality and common sense, but you are welcome regardless." Death Arms murmured, Spirit smiled a bit more.

"Hmm, good luck on your Internship by the way." She hummed, "Hopefully mine will go as well as yours inevitably will."

"You'll be fine, Spirit. It'll be a steep learning curve, but you can handle it." He assured her, she smiled a little more, but softer this time.

"Have I ever told you how good a friend you are?" She asked lightly,

"Several times." Was the easy reply, and she chuckled at it. "And you're a good friend too, Spirit." He added, and her eyes flashed as her core warmed a little. It felt nice to hear it, since she knew she could be a difficult person to get along with at the best of times... And he had never complained, and she'd always done her best to be at least half as good a friend to him as he was to her- and hoped she'd managed it.

Of anyone in her life she actually liked and even cared for- he was the one who knew her the best. And knowing that, he was probably all too aware of that small bit of insecurity she had about how likeable she was... Which was certainly why he made a point to tell her she was a good friend to him.

 _He is my best friend, without a doubt... Sometimes I wish he did know everything though... But not everyone knows everything about their friends._

 _That is incredibly true in my case... But that is how it has to be._

She hummed, nodding her head though Death Arms of course could not see it.

"Thank you, I do my best~"

 **.:+:.**

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek as she scrolled through the list set into her phone- a shopping/To-Do List pertaining to what she needed, and needed done for the Internship she was slowly growing more uneasy about.

It had taken a little over and hour at UA and talking with Cementoss to clear everything up and settle a 'plan' away in some semblance of the word. You know- where she'd meet the kid, how long they'd spend a day together, where they would be working... Yeah, all the things she had hashed out (or rather ranted about) to Death Arms not long beforehand.

Oh, and she'd actually manage to square away _which_ of the two students she'd offered to had accepted. And it was the one from Eraserhead's class, which made her a slight bit more uneasy, given what the man had said to her when they met.

 _"If you protect my student as fervently as you did Ingenium, then I have no problem with you taking them as an Intern."_

... Which pretty much meant she had to make sure the kid didn't get hurt at all, lest Eraserhead _would_ have a problem with her... He seemed really hard to please, even despite his (unexpected!) praise for how she handled Stain and-

She bit the inside of her cheek harder, and this time she tasted blood on her tongue and she growled at herself.

Anyway... She'd had Cementoss show her back to the school entrance this time around so she wouldn't end up lost like she had the first time. The school had been fairly empty given it was just a little after the school day ended, so they'd run into near one else on the way out (which meant no running into All Might, which was perfect).

Though there was this _one_ small kid with unkempt green hair that they'd passed from the other side of the courtyard on the way out. And from the stifled squeal she heard him let loose across the yard, and the way he seemed to be barely holding himself together and back from rushing over- Spirit was fairly sure he was one of those who counted themselves among her fans... And maybe close to a fanboy, given how fast his head snapped around when he caught sight of her.

Seriously, he probably gave himself _whiplash_.

She sighed, shaking her head at herself as she thumbed the notification bar down and read the notification from Hawkward. And the one of which she hadn't bothered to answer since the last message.

 _Hakward: Ah, it's almost time for Patrol, huh~? You given my suggestion to Patrol together any thought~?_

She glanced down through the leaves of the tree she was perched in, the park around her fairly empty and apt to stay that way. It was the park she'd wondered on earlier about being a good place for a training session, and it was. There was plenty of places off the beaten path that seldom ever earned even one person poking around, so if time came and she decided to quit Patrol for a while or even a day, this would be the place to go... It was probably pretty lucky there was a park this large in Heiku at all.

Spirit blinked, still in her spot and quiet as a bird suddenly landed on a branch further below from where she was crouched. It didn't notice her, and it clearly had no clue she was above it. She could jump down and lunge for the thing before it ever had the chance to take off, she could practically feel her claws sinking into-

Spirit stiffened, her eye twitching as she grit her teeth at herself and her _stupid_ wandering _animal_ thoughts.

 _You're not a cat, Spirit. You are human, and we are_ ** _not_** _hunting a bird. No matter how tempting- no, no, stop it!  
_

She hissed at herself and quickly shifted, startling the bird on purpose so it would take off and leave her be. She settled her focus on her phone again to try and shift where her thoughts were, her thumb hovered over the notification for Hawks' message and she glanced at the clock.

 _5:45pm_

Technically speaking she'd been out and on her Patrol Hours for almost an hour now, but she really hadn't done much in the way of Patrolling. And if she were to agree to Patrolling with the Feathery-Idiot for even a few hours?

 _I doubt we'll really do much Patrolling then either... Knowing him he'll just be talking to whole time._

Her eyes dropped closed as she wilted a little,

 _... and guessing things, as well as coming up with nicknames... Oi... Do I really have the patience to deal with him today?_

 _Plus I saw him last night, and humored him through the whole Endeavor thing. I've fairly filled whatever quota there is for 'being social with Hawks'_

Her thumb tapped against the notification and the app popped up. She started typing away and grimaced to herself,

 _... Aaaaaaaaand yet I say that, and I'm still saying yes... I have to at least humor Death Arms' suggestion to give Feathers a shot, and might as well get that done and over with as soon as I can so I can move on with my life._

 _I swear though, if I get stuck cleaning up his mess I will tear him to shreds... I'll tear him to shreds if he's annoyingly constant about asking who my favorite Hero is and throwing out even more ridiculous nicknames too._

 _Hawkward_

 _Ah, it's almost time_  
 _for Patrol, huh~?_  
 _You given my_  
 _suggestion to_  
 _Patrol together any_  
 _thought~?_

 _Fine._  
 _But only for a few_  
 _hours._  
 _And I'm not_  
 _doing any meet_  
 _and greet with the_  
 _Press or the public._  
 _And you'll need to_  
 _tone it down on_  
 _your 'Public Persona'_  
 _if you want to Patrol_  
 _with me._  
 _We stick to ourselves_  
 _and draw as little_  
 _attention as can be_  
 _managed, got it?_

 _..._  
 _Where do you want_  
 _to meet up, Feathers?_

For a brief moment she thought about putting the phone back in her pocket as she waited for a reply, but if his usual response time was any indicator- _ah, sure enough. Almost instant reply(ies)... He lives on his phone, doesn't he?_

 _Hawkward_

 _Where do you want_  
 _to meet up, Feathers?_

 _Oh sweet~! This is_  
 _gonna be super cool~!_  
 _Hanging out with you_  
 _in the field will be_  
 _great ~! Maybe I'll get_  
 _to see you in action_  
 _first hand~!_

 _..._  
 _Ooh, or maybe it'll be_  
 _super slow tonight,_  
 _we could hit up a food_  
 _stand or something~!_  
 _My treat this time~!_

 _..._  
 _Ah, and I'll just come_  
 _to you~! I'll be there_  
 _super quick, you're_  
 _in the park at Heiku,_  
 _yeah~? I'm gonna_  
 _wing it on over, see_  
 _ya in five minutes~!_

Spirit paused, her eyes narrowing at the series of texts and in particular- the last one.

 _How in the hell does he know where I am...?_

She reread it about three times, and each time her lips pulled downward in an even deeper frown.

 _Seriously- how the fuck does he know where I am...?!_

She grit her teeth, glaring daggers at the phone in her hand as she stayed in her perch upon the tree branch. About a million different reasons he could know that ran through her head, and all of them made no sense, or couldn't be possible or she didn't dare think was right.

And the more she thought about, the more potent that suspicion and wariness she had felt about him that first day they had met became. His curiosity and his incessant asking of questions and 'wanting to get to know her' had already struck a chord from the getgo- but she'd eventually just come to the conclusion he was nothing more than a child, and his persistence was harmless. So, she'd let her guard down just a small, tiny fraction of the way- but now?

 _How the hell does he know where I am? And why?_

 _Is that feathery-fucking-twat_ _ **spying**_ _on me?_

She hissed, her grip around her phone tightening as anger surged underneath the suspicion growing heavier in her core. She particularly disliked people sticking their noses in her business even on just a small (and maybe even harmless) scale, but people sticking their nose far enough into her business to know where she was when she hadn't told anyone where she was going? And further that that, someone she'd relented to telling them how her Quirk worked in more depth than nearly anyone else in the world knew? Few people were privy to the information that her Quirk altered her body on a DNA level, and she'd only told him that because she'd at that point assumed his wondering, and his knowing _was_ harmless.

Because he was just a curious man-child, right?

 _Tch... Maybe that was all just an act. Maybe he's got an ulterior motive for this whole 'get to know Spirit' thing he's been doing... Damn it._

She had enough of people spying on her with Dante out there somewhere knowing everything about her, and she damn well didn't need Hawks spying too... And especially not after earlier, and what those two had asked her to do- _fuck no!_

She was in no mood for someone else to be prying and picking apart her life and trying to use her, or whatever the hell else. And she would not be tolerating it from him, not a chance. "... Fucking... I swear if he's been playing me..." Spirit muttered hotly under her breath, locking the phone and stuffing it inside her suit. Her hands dropped down and pressed against the bark of the branch she was crouched on, still scowling as her body got swallowed up in a fractured red-black haze of non-reality and she Shifted.

Her claws dug into the wood and her tail lashed once, the movement sending an array of glittering black pieces of ghostly glass energy to fall slowly toward the ground at the behest of gravity. Her fur and the edge of her figure wavered and blurred a few moments longer before her body seemed to sharpen and she sat silent on the branch for a few seconds, a cat now- and looking as ordinary as could be if someone were to stroll under the tree and glance up.

Well, ordinary if not for the way her ears were pressed flat against her skull and the piercing glare of her blood-red eyes fixed on the ground below. In cat standards, she looked much less than _pleased_ , and her tail-tip twitched irritably in near constant rhythm.

 _... I do not have time to deal with someone poking their nose where they don't belong... Especially not someone like him..._

Her eyes moved as she caught caught sight of something red fluttering nearby, and she needn't guess what it was. There was nothing else in this park that could be that stark vermilion hue.

She pushed herself up and jumped lightly down from the tree, her paws hitting the grass underneath as she watched the feather halt in it's movement. It took notice of her and she sat down at the base of the tree, her tail curling around her paws and motionless as the feather zoomed over toward her and circled her form. She paid it absolutely no mind and her ears shoved forward as she waited and listened for that familiar sound of wings on the air. The feather took a stationary place at her side, almost mimicking her posture as another minute passed by and the shadow cast by the tree grew darker as the shadow of Hawks and his wingspan fell over her.

"Hello Kitten~! Good to see you, ya ready for Patrol~?" Came the sing-song voice and Spirit bristled immediately. He landed lightly in front of her with a wave of his hand, smiling and carefree as he glanced down through his visor toward her. "It's gonna be fun-!"

"What did I tell you about calling me 'Kitten'?!" Spirit snapped, cutting him off abruptly and jumping to her paws as her back arched as she bared her teeth at him. He paused, before smiling coolly as he chuckled at her.

"Oh right~! You said you'd murder me~!" He laughed, "Sorry, totally slipped my mind~! Seeing you in cat form just made me say it without thinking~! Hehe, that's a bit of a bad habit of mine~!" He hummed, "Real shame though, I think it's a cute nickname~! Plus it totally fits, you're Shifted into a cat a lot, huh~? Like that's your go-to form, yeah~?"

Spirit bristled further at the question, her eyes narrowing to furious red slits and her ears pressing back against her head harder. Her lips pulled back in a snarl and her claws dug into the grass at the question- the _prying_ question. The question that did not register as _harmless_ in any way shape or form.

"Oh, and you were at UA a little earlier too, huh~? Any particular reason~?" He asked next, hardly skipping a beat as he rocked on his toes and bit with his hands in his pockets. There was an array of vermilion feathers slowly converging inward on their location and replacing themselves amongst the others in his wings. Where they were beforehand she hadn't a clue, and she honestly didn't give a damn- that distrust fanned anew was burning hotter, and getting heavier in her core- and it flared like an inferno at that.

 _How in the fuck does he know I went to UA?!_

Her lips curled, fangs bared and a growl emanating in her throat as her fur stood up on end. Her tail lashed behind her as her posture grew angry and rigid, and his carefree smile faded slightly when he realized her anger had yet to settle out again. And in reality, it grew more fervent... and more so, there was _suspicion_ and sheer _distrust_ burning bright in those red eyes of hers.

"Uh...?" He breathed, his hands lifting out of his jacket pockets instinctively as he got glared down by the very much feline Animal Spirit.

" _Hawks_ ," She hissed his name lowly, and the sheer venom in it made him flinch a little. "How in the hell did you know I was at UA? Or in this park?" She asked, her voice a flinty growl that sent shivers up his spine and he swallowed.

A mixture of nervousness and embarrassment dawned on his face and his eyes quickly averted from her. His hand moved up and grabbed hold of one of the sides of the high collar of his jacket and he quickly pulled the fur-lined fabric over and across his face to cover his mouth- as if it was meant to stifle his words altogether.

For the briefest of moments Spirit's anger and suspicion died off in surprise to the reaction, and the rather odd movement and action. The sudden wash of _embarrassment_ that spread over his features had her faltering further, and the gesture with the jacket and his mouth was so new she just stared, her red eyes flashing as he seemed to keep from looking at her and instead stared at the ground while his feet shifted across the grass.

She faltered for no more than a second more and her ire returned, her fur fluffing up further and tail lashing angrily behind her as she dug her claws into the springy grass underpaw.

"Are you _spying_ on me?" Spirit hissed lowly, he flinched at how low her voice got and he peered at her tentatively around the collar he had covering his mouth, his eyes glittering. The failure to answer the question made her lips curl further, a low growl rumbling in her throat. Because he didn't move to deny it, and her anger flared, distrust and ever-buried malice rising in a wave like lava through her veins and her core. "Answer me, Hawks!" Spirit ordered sharply, and he jumped again at the loudness of her voice. He looked unsure of why there was so much anger in her suddenly, because even if she was a miffed with him, this was like... This was _rage_ , and with it so much ire and suspicion that was so, so _potent._ She looked-

Her body got swept up in a black-red haze of rapid, spinning, volatile non-reality and suddenly that cat that has been staring him down was now the woman. Stiff-shouldered and straight backed, her red eyes blazing as her expression twisted. The look she set on him was nothing less than burning, simmering fire that was so hot it was icy cold, and he gulped, his feathers fluffing up in unconscious reaction.

-she looked _terrifying._

She took a single step toward him, and it took a lot to keep from backing away from her when she did.

"Hear me when I say this, Hawks." Spirit growled, her fists clenched at her sides and her nails digging into her palms. "I don't take kindly to people sticking their noses in my business on a regular basis, but I can be patient when I need to be. But if you're sticking your nose in places you ought not to, and you're keeping tabs on me, or following me or whatever the hell else- stop. Right. _Now_." His eyes flashed, his grip on the collar of his jacket getting a little tighter as he stared, and Spirit glared at him for five seconds more that seemed to last an eternity... Before she let out a huff, and started to stalk away, clearly still fuming with that icy rage of hers.

 _B-but... But where the hell did all this anger come from...?!_

"Now kindly fuck off. I'm _done_ with you." Spirit muttered lowly, her voice filled with venom and he felt his heart sink into the pits of his stomach. "I'm not patrolling with you, and you'll be damn sure I'm not spending another second with you from here on out."

"S-Spirit, wait...!" He stammered quickly, his grip on his coat collar lost as he quickly made to move after her. "L-look, it wasn't like that, I swear...!"

"Don't. I don't care what it was like, any semblance of following me or keeping an eye on me that allows you to know where I was without me telling you- is still _spying_." Spirit muttered hotly, her back to him as she headed away at a brisk pace and didn't dare glance back.

"Spirit please! I wasn't _spying_ on _you_ , I swear!" Hawks argued still, Spirit heard his feet across the grass and she stiffened when she heard his wings flap downward. There was a split second of his shadow falling over her before she was forced to a halt when he landed in front of her, his hands up in what was supposed to be a calming gesture and eyes glittering. "Look, I understand that you like your privacy and I'm sorry if I invaded it, that wasn't my intention! I wasn't trying to piss you off and I wasn't trying to be nosy or weird or stalker-ish or anything...!"

"I don't want to hear it." Spirit shot back lowly, already shouldering her way passed him. "Back off, Hawks. I'm not going to say it again."

"Please just hear me out..!" He persisted, and his hand came down lightly around her wrist and Spirit felt a rush of sheer anger run through her at the contact.

Her muscles locked and her jaw snapped shut hard enough to crack teeth, her wrist twisted in his hand and she wrapped her fingers around his arm with a grip like iron. Her nails dug into his arm and his jacket as her other hand swept up to grab the top half of that same arm, she pivoted on her heel and turned, her body weight jolting forward as she jerked Hawks and his arm forward from behind her in one swift, deadly fast movement. She pulled him through air over her shoulder and he slammed in a pile of limbs and sheer red feathers into the ground, the breath driven from him and stunned as she shifted in the next second to stand over him. Her knee fell on his chest and her other foot pinned his right arm as she kept firm hold of the one she had grabbed to begin with. He coughed a few times as he fought to catch his breath and his shocked and slightly pained face only a few inches from hers as she suddenly leaned in.

He was completely pinned and on the ground in the matter of a few seconds, and she was so harsh- this... This was a Spirit he had seen when she went against Stain, and one he never imagined he would see with him- _against_ _him..!_

His head was reeling as much as his lungs were from being slammed into the ground, and his arm ached from the steeliness of her grip and the slightly odd twist she held it in. He was surprised at how fast she was, and how strong. She just threw him over her shoulder like it was nothing...! Spirit is a thin lady!

"Today is _not_ the day to test me, Hawks." Spirit growled lowly, her red eyes flashing and almost... glowing(?!) as she glared down at him and he couldn't move, not that he tried. The position was uncomfortable, with him and her both on top of his wings and there was a sharp ache of pain that was centered around the right side of his back, like he landed on something. But he was still lost, he didn't understand where all of this came from, at all. Because being miffed was understandable, but this level of anger? It gave him the distinct impression that there was something else behind her rage that he hadn't a clue about. And maybe about something that had happened earlier today, since she said 'today is not the day'?

... Maybe, but he also got the impression _this_ was about something darker... deeper.

Dark and mysterious and secrets, right?

He swallowed back the lump in his throat and did his best to relax under her hold, he wasn't going to fight back, not even after she assaulted him. He'd really hate to piss her off more than she already was, so he relented to surrendering, and he didn't make the slightest move, he just held her blazing red eyes and he paused in order to allow a few seconds for them both to just breathe.

"... I wasn't spying on you, Spirit." He murmured softly, she looked unconvinced with the words and more agitated that he was still trying to explain himself. "I wouldn't do that to you, and certainly never with the intention of... of hurting you, or blackmailing you or anything, if that's what you're so pissed about...?" He added, his voice dropping a little more and this time her eyes narrowed to slits. That last bit was a guess on his part, since he hadn't any real clue what set her off about all of this- and with the way her eyes narrowed, he figured it was a good guess... and a guess that made him wonder more, but he wouldn't ask right then... or maybe ever.

"... look, it's maybe a bit of a bad habit, but I have feathers spread out around over several of the different wards and sections of the city." He murmured, still holding her eyes steadily. "I keep tabs on a bunch of different places all at once, watching out for trouble and Villains and all sorts of other stuff. I pick up on things, people talking and rumors and sometimes I notice people I know- but I'm just watching a general area, I'm not focused on anyone specific, and I'm not really spying either."

Granted it sounded a lot like spying, and maybe in a way it was... but it wasn't so he could use the information he gathered as leverage or anything. It was just habit and it made getting to places and stopping Villains and handling rescue all the faster, because he was aware of what was going on before anyone tried to call him on his phone.

But at any rate, it was not how he figured she thought it was- as in stalking someone, sending a feather to stick to that person and follow them wherever they go in secret and see (in the metaphorical sense) everything they are doing and everything they say. And he did do that, sometimes, but always on a Villain or an assignment or something... never on another Pro and certainly not on her.

Spirit didn't say anything, and she certainly didn't interject again in order to tell him to shut up, so he took that as sign she was at least humoring him for now.

"It helps me pick up on trouble super fast, so I can head over straight away and lend a hand without waiting on the police to call and ask for my assistance. And sometimes I can even stop something from really getting going too, and make it so no one gets hurt and there's not a lot of damage done." He mumbled, "But it's all just chatter, okay? It's the same sort of info I'd get if I was just walking down a street and just keeping an eye out as I pass people and places by." He let out a small breath, searching her face and her expression for some change or hint that her anger was dying away and that maybe she was believing him and what he said. But her expression didn't change, it stayed angry and rigid and he sighed internally. "... I overheard some kid on the street tell his friends that he'd seen you at UA today." Hawks mumbled, "He was that green-haired kid that made a mess of himself at the Sports Festival. And one of my feathers was runnin' up and down the street he was on, I usually have one in that area after the whole Sludge-Villain thing with All Might, so it was a 'right place, right time' sort of thing."

This time Spirit blinked, and he swore he saw her anger wane by a small fraction as it got replaced with recognition.

 _... The kid that gave himself whiplash when he saw me...?_

"... At a guess, he was walking back home from school." Hawks went on, slowly, carefully almost. "And the park thing was the same sort of deal. One of my feathers picked up on these two ladies chatting as they were leaving this park, and I heard them mention seein' a black cat walking around here." Spirit's eyes narrowed further again and he paused, "... I sort of just assumed it was you, since Heiku is your home-base and all... and you didn't correct me when I asked in the message, so..."

There was deadly silence as his words trailed away into nothing, and neither of them moved. Spirit kept him pinned where he was and those heat-filled red eyes of hers stayed glued to him, her expression still twisted and suspicious.

Her heart and her head and her emotions and her better senses- _everything_ said not to believe him. Do _not_ take him at his word, do _not_ trust him, he is _lying_. Despite what he says, or anything else- he _is spying_ , and on _everyone_. 'Chatter' or 'keeping an eye out' or whatever the hell else, it's _bullshit_. He is watching people and he is eavesdropping, and he is keeping tabs on so many people and he doesn't see the issue with that. And that's only if what he said was the truth, and how the hell was she supposed to trust that it was?

She _didn't_

She _didn't trust_ people, or anyone- and she sure as hell didn't trust _him_.

And it infuriated her like nothing else, because that was what he wanted her to do with saying all of that, and trying to explain himself. He wanted her to trust him and what he told her, she could see it in his face and his eyes.

But he had no right to ask that of her, or expect it, or even _look_ for it, damn it!

For the second time that day, she failed to remind herself to stay calm, and actually listen to it. Only this time she lost enough control she turned violent, and she couldn't give a damn right then.

 _Does he expect me to just believe all of that? And like it?_

 _Does he even realize that he all but admitted to spying on hundreds of people all over the city and the other wards? And he doesn't see how invasive that is?_

 _This feathery fucking-_

"... I'm sorry if I stepped over a line, Spirit." Hawks apologized quietly, breaking the silence again. "... I didn't realize you'd be so wound up about this, I didn't mean to set you off... I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is give you a reason to hate me, or stay away... I just say and do things without thinking, and I didn't think how you'd feel, or how any of it would be an invasion of your privacy." His expression softened slightly, and he was still searching her and her expression, and she hated it. "... I won't do it again, and I'm sorry I did it at all."

Damn it, she didn't want him to sound so fucking genuine!

Part of her wanted to stay pissed, and a part of her wanted to hold on to her anger and her distrust and keep it in her heart and her soul because she knew better. Part of her didn't want to trust anyone, let alone him, and a part of her just wanted to believe that's what this was- a good reason to stay away from him and a reason not to let herself relax around him. She didn't trust people, she learned not to several times over. And what few she did trust, she never trusted them all the way, or even enough. She wasn't looking to add anyone else to the list of 'sort of trusting', and she wasn't looking to find a reason to do so.

She didn't play nice with others because she didn't trust them to be anything other than just another person to screw her over. She didn't join a Hero Agency or get along with other Pros, or have a life or anything of the sort with anyone- because she couldn't trust people. Life taught her that way too many times and she never bothered to shake that habit off, if even that were possible.

She didn't want to believe in him and his story and his fucking sincerity because she didn't want any reason to give him another chance. She'd given him plenty of a chance already and it had gone farther than it ever had with anyone outside of Death Arms- _he had his chance Spirit, and now he's ruined it! He spies on people and he acts like it's normal! And fuck it if it's for being a better Pro or arriving quickly to a crisis, it's still spying!_

 _And he just admitted he does it and shit like it without thinking! He's gonna decide to spy on you some day on a fucking whim, and that cannot happen!_

 _I'm not dealing with this flying fucking idiot spying on me at all, or in any way! 'I won't do it again'?! The hell he won't, he can't help himself!_ _He's a fool and a child and he doesn't know when to quit!_

 _Better to drop him now and stay away- because you can be damn sure he'll stick his nose in something you can't risk him knowing about some day!_

 _You tried Spirit, you tried to be nice and you tried to give him a chance- and now this can end, right here! That is the best plan, this way nothing happens and nothing ever will! Everything will be easier and better that way, end it now and just let it be!_

 _This is the better plan. This is rational, this way will be better for both of us. You **know** that. _

Spirit's jaw clenched, her eyes glittering as she continued to glare at him and the silence fell heavier this time around. And he just held her gaze, and he stayed there where she had him pinned, submissive and patient and calm... And unwavering.

 _... So.. Why...?!_

She swallowed, her teeth gritting harder and her anger burning brighter- but not at _him_.

She knew it would be better to end whatever 'relationship' she had with him right here and there... it _was_ better and it _was_ safer that way. She knew it was better to tell him to stay away and make him believe it. She knew she could force him to do it if she was serious enough. Do it now before anything goes further and we both end up better off- that was the rational answer to this, and she _knew_ it. So why-

 _... why in the hell am I hesitating...?!_

 _Shit... shit!_

* * *

 **Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (Even if it's a bit on the boring side)**

 **Thank you for reading, and your reviews/feedback! I appreciate you all so much!**

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	11. Chapter 11- Chance

**Chapter 11**

 **Chance**

 **.:+:.**

 _"- I want_ _ **nothing**_ _to do with you Hawks. Not ever again. We are_ _ **done**_ _."_

 **.:+:.**

 _I should never have hesitated... damn it_

 **.:+:.**

Seconds of stony silence between the both of them seemed to stretch to millions of years, and the world around them meant little to nothing. They were both silent and unmoving, Hawks still pinned underneath Animal Spirit and their eyes locked with each other as they remained there in that park with no one around and no one to witness what was going on, or the No. 26's incredibly harsh behavior toward the No. 24. It seemed like it was just them, like they were the only ones in the world for those few moments, and certainly the only ones that mattered.

The longer they held one another's gaze, the more Hawks became convinced he wasn't seeing things- Spirit's eyes _were_ glowing. Just a little, and it wasn't easy to tell with how light it was outside, but as they were there and the sun slowly kept on sinking behind the horizon, it began to be easier to tell. Those red eyes of hers were giving off an ethereal dark crimson glow that was odd, yet somehow... Cool was the word he used, though maybe he thought _beautifully haunting_ was better.

 _A little too dramatic? Hmm... Maybe-_

But how come he'd never realized her eyes did that? It couldn't have been new, yeah? So why had he never noticed it?

He supposed maybe they'd never really seen eachother when it was getting dark and the city lights weren't all around, so that might have kept him from being able to see this faint glow. Or maybe it was because she was so angry right now, and a sort of anger she hadn't ever been with him... This sheer anger he _hadn't_ wanted aimed at him, if he were to be honest. But it was there and though he still wasn't entirely sure just why she was this angry, he knew well enough at this point he had missteped somewhere. And he honestly hadn't meant to, but really- how was he supposed to have known that his (albeit perhaps _bad)_ habits for collecting info from all over the cities streets would set her off this much?

There was little doubt in his mind that there was something darker and deeper hidden behind her anger for his sort-of-spying, and immediately came that urge to ask about it, and to know- unsurprisingly. He was a curious person by nature and he sometimes forgot manners and common sense in that urge to learn and to figure people out, though he mostly didn't mean to. He just got hung up on the things that interested him, and sometimes that interest outweighed better sense or thoughts of consequence... as it surely had now.

She interested him though- like _a lot_ \- and a lot more than he ever thought possible or anticipated she could. He wasn't sure what it was that had her at such a high point on his list of 'Interesting Things', but she was there none the less, and for it he maybe, sort of, just a little, had gotten... Obsessed...? Not obsessed, _obsessed_... But more interesting than a passing fancy level of attention.

But any which way, his attention had gotten a bit too involved for Spirit's liking. And her reaction was harsh, and abrasive, and shocking... And damn it that just made her all the more interesting!

 _How am I supposed to stop being curious if you do this, Spirit...?!_

He sighed internally, willing himself not to show his exasperation outwardly, lest it set her off more. She was clearly ready to drop him and any and all interaction between the two of them in the near future- ditch him and stay away and keep it like that, and he _didn't_ want that. The thought made him a little panicky (if that hadn't been clear with how quickly he jumped into trying to calm her down...), and he really, really didn't want to destroy what little relationship they had established thus far... Which he had started to do now, though entirely inadvertently.

 _Maaaaannnn... I really messed up today... But I still don't get all of it..._

He wasn't sure what he would do if Spirit didn't believe him and his apology. He didn't want to think she'd reject it, but he knew there was probably a really high chance she would- and then he just wouldn't see her anymore, huh?

No more popping by and chatting, no more late-night dinners, no more surprise paparazzi photos, and no more grumpy Animal Spirit on the other end of Instagram's messaging app... No more earning anymore Points with her and no more chances to learn more, and really get to know her.

Weirdly enough, the idea of that no _more_ really didn't sit well in his core. It almost made him feel anxious, and like he was about to lose something that meant something to him... _Again, why the hell does she seem important to me? Out of nowhere, and in so little time? I still don't get it-_

-ah, ignoring that question he hadn't an answer for, there was one thing he was certain of; he _meant_ it, when he said he was sorry. He had to mean it, because if he didn't there wasn't a chance she'd believe him, and that would mean there would no longer be a _Hawks and Animal Spirit_ of any kind.

So his eyes locked with hers and he hoped she saw it in him, the honesty and the sincerity... And maybe even the want, too.

 _I don't want things to end here... You're too interesting to let walk away now, Spirit._

Her eyes narrowed at him and her lips curled. She almost looked sour and he wasn't sure if it was because of something his face did, or something else entirely.

 _Interesting, yeah... And maybe I've actually been enjoying it, being around you... Even as little as we've managed so far._ _Weird huh, Hawksy...? Definitely didn't anticipate that when this all started... Not that I'm complaining per say... Heh, though maybe I could have gone without getting thrown to the ground~_

He felt her grip on his wrist tighten, her fingers digging in even farther than they already had, and he almost winced. But even despite that, she said nothing, and their tense staring contest continued.

The pause was a good sign though, yeah? At least she was thinking about it? And not just throwing him away?

"...tch... You bloody fucking..." Spirit hissed under her breath, almost too low for him to hear her.

Her grip around his wrist suddenly released, and in the split second that followed that a small, faint smile started to spread across his face- only to abruptly get cut off when her hand closed tightly around the collar of his jacket and shirt, and she jerked his head up off the ground to be inches away from her own. The dying rays of sunlight bounced off his visor for a split second as she did that, before their eyes locked and he got the feeling she was staring straight into his _soul_.

 _Dramatic again? Proooooobably-_

"Hear me and listen well, _Hawks_." Spirit growled lowly, her tone nearly dangerous and he unconsciously sucked in a breath of air and held it. "If you ever try to spy on me, or collect secrets or information about me, or if you ever try to blackmail me or keep tabs on me and what I'm doing and my whereabouts- I will find out out. Doesn't matter what you do, or how careful you are, or how harmless you think it is. I _will_ find out. And when I do, and without _hesitation_ -" she hissed, her tone dangerously low and Hawks blinked. She pulled him just a hairs' width closer, her red eyes gleaming and her expression changing from icy rage to something darker, and something even colder... Something almost...?

"- _I will kill you_."

Hawks felt his heart skip a beat as a pang of fear struck him straight through his core. Pure and actual fear, and because he honestly couldn't tell if she was kidding...?!

He swallowed, a cold bead of sweat falling down the back of his neck and spine.

 _N-no she... She's like seriously serious...! L-like will without a doubt_ ** _actually_** _murder me...! T-that's n-not very Hero-like...!_

For maybe the first time in his life, someone actually, and utterly terrified him... Like shake you down to your core and make your heart stop, make it impossible to breathe terrified. And it terrified him even more that it was Animal Spirit who did it.

Not a Villain, not a crime, not a disaster or a catastrophe- _Animal Spirit!_

 _W-what the hell...?!_

Animal Spirit let her threat sink in for a few seconds more, before she scowled at him and roughly jerked his head back and let the front of his shirt go in the same instant. His head fell back against the grass as he elected not to keep it up himself, and he watched in rigid, slightly still terrified silence as she shifted and pushed herself up and off of him. She stepped over and away from him, surprisingly careful enough not to step all over his wings in the process, he might add... But her expression and her demeanor was anything but careful or gentle.

"You had best remember that, Hawks." She muttered lowly, he blinked up at her from his place still frozen on the ground. Her glittering red eyes moved away from him and she turned her back toward him slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, growling lowly. "... You're only getting one more chance, don't screw it up." she added lowly, he bit the inside of his cheek.

Spirit seemed to force herself a calming breath, and for a moment she shifted like she intended to look his way again, but never actually did. He slowly sat up, adjusting to sit cross-legged on the grass beside her and his wings pulling into his sides, his eyes peering up at her quietly from behind his visor. His mouth opened to say something, but he stopped himself before a noise ever came out and pulled the collar of his jacket over his mouth to keep himself quiet.

 _Yeah... Probably shouldn't. I ought to just give her a minute to... Calm down, maybe..._

So they just remained there in silence, and the same sort of silence that had come before her threat of homicide. Spirit didn't move, and she didn't look at him, and Hawks did his best to stay still too... But honestly, the longer it went on the more he was fidgeting, and the faster his glances grew as his gaze darted between her and the grass.

Hell, he even started to fidget nervously with the grass, pulling up strands and then messing with his feathers to try and keep himself from saying something, or getting up, or pissing her off again.

God, silence was _painful!_

Spirit stiffened at the sound of Hawks pulling up pieces of grass, her ears easily catching the clear snap of the vegetation and she spared a quick, imperceptible glance down toward him for the first time in a few long minutes. Her already narrowed eyes narrowed even further to see him sitting there and almost hunched over, picking the grass apart and switching between that and messing with his feathers, moving, incessant, fidgety... _bloody fucking hell, is he pouting?!_

Her lips curled and her teeth grit together as she actively fought the urge to smack him across the head for his childish behavior. She just eyed him as he kept on with what he was doing, her lips pulling further and further into a frown as she grit her teeth.

 _He is a fucking child!_

"Grr... Quit it!" She snapped hotly, and he flinched at it, eyes wide and glittering as he met her furious red gaze for the first time in a long time. His fingers stilled in picking apart the grass, stiff as a board and quiet again as she glared at him, "You're bloody child, do you know that?! Can you not sit still and be quiet?!" She hissed furiously, he seemed to bite the inside of his cheek and he pulled the collar of his jacket tighter over his mouth. His eyes averted from her again as his posture wilted,

"Sorry, Spirit..." He mumbled around the jacket, she bristled further at the apology.

 _He_ ** _is_** _pouting!_

 _God damn it, why did I say I was gonna give him another chance?!_

 _I can't stand him acting like a child!_

 _But he_ _ **is**_ _a child, damn it!_

Her jaw clenched so hard she thought she might crack a tooth, and her fingers dug into her arms as they crossed even tighter over her chest.

"Hey, isn't that Hawks?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah! Wait... Is that Animal Spirit with him...?!"

"Oh my god it totally is!"

"Haven't those two been together more and more often lately?"

"Yeah! You think something's going on..?"

"Why's Hawks sitting on the ground like that...?"

Spirit growled lowly at the pair of voices behind her somewhere, and undoubtedly belonging to a duo of (now) excited onlookers- who from the sound of it, were fans of Hawks, and among the many who had heard from the media and all around about that conjecture and rumors about herself and Hawks being _around_ eachother... And what that might mean.

Because it had to mean _something_ right?

 _Ugh_

She usually didn't give a damn what the media or the press or anything said, and she usually didn't care what the general public said or thought either... But right now she was in no mood.

"I'm leaving." Spirit muttered lowly, he blinked at her, looking unsure of himself and she let out a hot breath.

 _I hate myself_

"I said you had one last chance Hawks. If you don't think you're gonna blow it, you can come with." She muttered hotly, his eyes flashed in surprise. She shook her head at him and waved a hand dismissively as she started to walk passed him, and away from the looky-loos behind her.

"Otherwise, leave me the hell alone."

She walked passed him and her body got swarmed in a black-red haze of non reality, glittering pieces of hazy glass shinning in the dying light of the sun. Her figure shrunk down into something smaller, blurred at the edges as she Shifted, ebony feathers shinning smooth and her red eyes finding his as she stood there in the grass, an eagle now.

"Oh that is so cool...!"

"Heck yeah!"

The onlookers cooed and awed in the same way they always do in sight of the No. 26, though Spirit didn't cast a glance at them, and nor did Hawks. He stayed watching her as their eyes met, and she seemed to sigh at him, looking away again as she extended her wings and took off with little sound at all.

Hawks remained on the ground for a few moments after she took off, just watching her as she climbed higher up into the sky- before he realized what he was doing.

He scrambled to his feet, his wings lifting behind him and ready to take off, but he hesitated.

Should he really go after her? After all of that? Or would he just waste what last chance she had given him?

It wasn't like she was in a good mood right now, it might take very little to set her off enough to lose that chance altogether.

It would probably be better to let her cool off a little, give her some time alone and to herself, and give her time to forget all of what he did that had pissed her off so, so much- Aaaaaaaand he was already in the air...?!

He'd lifted off and into the sky before he even finished his thoughts or had any idea what his wings were doing without him asking them to.

His hands wrung together nervously as he found himself gliding through the air, trailing after the now avian Animal Spirit slowly. She didn't cast a glance back his way, but a small twitch of her head told him that she was aware he had followed, and he hoped she didn't mind that he had.

 _Why are you following, huh Hawksy? You totally pissed her off, it'd be better to give her some space, yeah?_

 _So why did my wings take me after her on their own?_

He let out a silent sigh, his shoulders sagging slightly. He made sure not to catch up all the way, but still stay in the quake of her flight-path... And he made sure to keep his mouth shut.

His hands moved up to his headphones around his neck as he moved them a bit, fidgeting with them a few moments and casting glances ahead toward Spirit, before looking below, and then on repeat. They were moving away from the park, out toward the heart of Heiku and the buildings and structures and its streets. He cast furtive glances between the urban area below and the soft orange and red gleam that the sun made off Spirit's wings and ebony feathers, his hands still playing with his headphones and chewing the inside of his cheek.

Silence really was _painful_

He forced himself a small, quiet breath and moved his headphones up and onto his head and ears- though he kept them tilted as not to cover both his ears all the way, so he could still hear the world around him... And Spirit if she wanted to talk to him, if ever again.

He really wished he knew why his sort-of-spying had set her off like that... Cause what caused all that anger and rage?

Was it something to do with why she'd gotten so touchy when the conversation about why they'd become Heroes? And about her doing it to 'spite' someone, and the world?

His eyes glittered as he cast her one long, lingering look, before he placed his hands in his jacket pockets and looked away for good.

 _I don't know... But... We messed up, huh Hawksy?_

 **.:+:.**

 _I should have just told him to fuck off for the day_

Spirit grumbled under her breath, her fingernails digging into her hips and her teeth clamped down on the insides of her cheeks in sheer agitation.

 _Why did I even give him the choice to come along or not? I'm in a royally foul mood, and it's his fault and that god damn Director's too_

The distant blue and red light of the police cars parked a ways away glowed brightly in the dim of the scarcely lit area. The chatter of radio and people alike so faint on her ears, and nearly drowned out entirely by the sound of Hawks' music blasting through his headphones on the endless cycle they seemed to have.

 _The only reason I haven't lost my mind being around him is because we've been dodging to and from this incident to that incident all night, and being busy with that hasn't allowed much time for chit-chat... Thank god_

Which was true, in terms of Patrolling, tonight had been a busy night. Nothing seriously bad had happened, just a bunch of small things, little scuffles and places where they could lend a hand, or settle some trouble. None of which ever took more than half an hour or so to clear up, and none of which required any real leg-work either. No fighting, no running around, nothing like when she was going toe-to-toe with Stain, or even of the same caliber as that group of guys she'd faced the first night she met Hawks.

In short, it was busy-work, and there was a lot of it. So they kept busy, solving this issue here and splitting up this group of fighting kids there, then helping pick up a spilled shipment of packages, and then on to stop and attempted robbery- which only consisted of Hawks tying the would-be robber in a flurry of feathers before he ever even got a chance to say his first threat. And then after that came a multitude of checking this street and then that, tugging a pedestrian too involved in his phone back and out of the street he had been about to walk into, and then next to Spirit saving a girl's bag from getting snatched.

It was a kid, middle-school age (and really not old enough to be out as late as she was...) who had been on her way home, and subsequently got her backpack stolen by a lanky guy with too much leg and not enough sense. Said Lanky-Dude had popped up from fidgeting in an alley and snatched up the kid's backpack from where it had been slung over one shoulder, and then started to book it down the street and hopefully out of sight. The girl screamed loud enough everyone two and three streets over could hear it, and immediately she had the eyes and attention of everyone on the same street- including Hawks, who had previously been doing his best to find something interesting in a store window to look at, instead of looking at Spirit. Which meant his attention on the 'lookout' portion of Patrolling had been rather lacking right then.

He wasn't even sure of what all happened, one minute he was staring at the display, and then in the next there was some kid screaming her head off while waving her hands in the direction of whoever it was that had caused her to be screaming. The kid wasn't saying much that made any sense, but Hawks had gotten the gist, and was already gearing up to send a feather out and deal with Lanky-Dude, only to cut short when he realized that Animal Spirit was not where he'd last seen her, like, ten seconds ago.

And in the next second, his eyes found Animal Spirit already up the street from him and pinning Lanky-Dude to the ground, one hand with his arm twisted behind his back, and the other holding the kid's bag.

He was reeling so much about how she could have managed to get from where he was, to apprehending Lanky-Dude in like _literally_ ten seconds, he'd just stood there, awed. He didn't even budge for a long while after Spirit tied Lanky-Dude up with one of those straps hanging from her waist (she was still in Hero Costume Version 1.0), and handed the kid's backpack back- and only slowly did he head over once she did that last bit.

Seriously, how did she react that fast? Had he really been that out of it?

Spirit handed the bag back and the teenage girl looked like she was losing her mind- rightfully so, since the whole ordeal had been done and over with in maybe like 30 seconds tops, and that was impressive in itself, but the real surprise?

It was _Animal Spirit_ who saved her bag.

Yeah, it became very clear, very fast, that that kid was a fan of the No. 26... Like a really big fan.

(If the multitude of black cat/dog/bird/animal pins stuck into her backpack had been any indicator...)

And Spirit handled the excited teen with grace and patience and polite responses, as she always did with her fans and the general public. She smiled gently and treated the girl with kindness, thanking her for the support and telling the girl it was no problem having to step in and save her bag. When Stain and her fight against him came into the picture, Spirit simply nodded and smiled- a little less maybe, but still calm anyway- and she didn't let the fangirling linger on that too long.

There came a bit of a crowd in the quake of what was only a small little incident, and though Spirit had wanted to avoid any large amount of being questioned and whatnot- she handled the gathering onlookers with the same quiet confidence that she had with the teenage (fan)girl. She answered a few questions and comments here and there, many of which had to do with Stain- and nearly all of which she gave little more than a vague reply or small word of 'thank you' when being praised for her efforts, skill, badassry or whatever.

And all the while the usually very fan-oriented Hawks hung back, and did this best not to have a lot of (or any) of the attention on himself. He busied himself with the Police while Spirit was preoccupied, and he smiled and played it cool as things got wrapped up, and he made sure to ask one of the officers to walk the kid home. And once Spirit broke away from her crowd and started to head off, he followed slowly and let her take the lead- and offered up a small, clearly nervous smile, and a small praise about how quickly she'd caught Lanky-Dude.

"You were pretty fast there Spirit, totally impressive~!" He had hummed, and she shot him a glance, her expression nothing but unreadable, before looking away again and huffing as her only reply.

And that was just how it had been the whole night. Even through the numerous things they ended up doing on Patrol, they had hardly said more than 20 words to eachother the whole night... And it was like 2 in the morning now. And the whole night there had been this tense, prickling sense of unease between the two of them that was so so heavy, like a thick cloud hanging over them. They hardly even looked at eachother, and they kept their distance, and they didn't speak, but they still kept together from street to street and event to event... And it got a little less electric as the hours rolled by after what stormy confrontation there had been in the park, but it was still so tense. Hawks had tried a few times through the hours to lighten things up, like his praise about Lanky-Dude, but it was clear that Spirit was not in the mood for it, and every failed attempt was another blow to a very damaged sense of confidence in his ability to smooth things over with her.

He was just trying to _not_ chase her off, or piss her off again, and he knew talking was the fastest way to do that... So he gave into the silence, and the not chatting, and the not looking at her and being cheery and all that even though the sullen and the quiet was so nerve-racking and almost maddening for him. Hawks felt like such a big twisted knot of anxiety and unspent energy he was feeling more and more nauseous as the hours dragged on.

This was not how he had pictured nor wanted his first time Patrolling with Spirit to go... At all.

And Spirit was very aware of how hard a time he was having trying to tread lightly around her. The sudden change in his chipper and cocky and childish attitude was immediate, and drastic... He was following her around and going through the motions of Patrol like a sad puppy who had been scolded and now didn't know what to do with itself.

And it was _infuriating_ , and he was wearing on her nerves even as the initial anger and rage settled down with the passage of time. It was a very good thing they had managed to stay so busy, otherwise she would have kicked him to the curb by now.

But still, she wasn't sure why she hesitated to drop him in the first place, or even why she gave him another chance... Because really, Hawks did little but piss her off. Like _every time_ they were around each other.

Spirit huffed again as she shook her head at herself. She heard the drone of Hawks' music fade and the sound of his wing beats do the same as he moved off just after mumbling something along the lines of 'I'll see what's up over there, gimme a minute' in regards to the distant police and whatever issue they were responding to further up the path from where she was.

 _What is wrong with me? He pisses me off much more than he ever is_ ** _tolerable_** _to be around, so why did I even subject myself to this?_

Her eyes fell closed as she shook her head again, grumbling nonstop.

 _... Damn it I am so aggravated... Him pouting is killing me and what patience I have left... I need to go home and just be alone... And I should have told him to go away in the first place!_

 _Damn me!_

And of course the fact that she had missed out on sleeping today did nothing to improve her mood. She could feel the exhaustion itself creeping at the back of her mind, but the agitation had been keeping it at bay quite well. She was sure to feel it as soon as she managed to calm down all the way, but she wasn't sure when that would be, but she could guess it would be sometime in working at the Club... Well, unless those suddenly grabby customers that Tenshi mentioned made an appearance, and kept her anger going.

 _I might actually break someone's hand if they try that today_

 _I'm sure that'll go over well with the owner... but damned if they won't deserve a fractured wrist for trying to grab at me or anyone else who doesn't fucking want it._

 _... Wow Spirit, you are a bitch, hmm?_

She grumbled a bit more under her breath and cast the thought off, forcing a sigh. She probably ought to try and stop thinking about everything that was making her so mad, at least sooner or later... _Maybe I ought to just focus on what I need to be doing for that Internship, hmm...?_

 _Still got a lot to do, and buy, and pick up... Ugh_

Her hand moved up from her hip and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

 _... I need sleep... I should just tell Feathers I am ditching him and go home to catch a few hours while I can..._

"... Ah, it's just that Killjoy guy. He stopped a group of kids from trashing the park and spray-painting everything." Hawks' voice came back into play somewhere behind her, and up a little. She took a guess that he'd perched himself on the top of one of the lamps lining the walkway, though she didn't bother to look his way. "He and the police have everything handled, so we don't need to head over..." he mumbled quietly, she nodded just once.

"Fine." she muttered, her hand falling from pinching the bridge of her nose and eyes still shut as she stood there a few moments and he stayed where he was too. There was a few seconds of silence, before she heard the distinct sound of his wings again and then the sound of his boots hitting the cobble path just behind her, and she scowled, her eyes cracking open and glaring at the ground.

Remember that thing about him keeping his distance? Well, he seemed to have tossed that out now-

"Ah... Here, Spirit." Hawks said softly, and entirely uncertainly, and she blinked.

 _Here?_

She turned around toward him, eyes narrowed in question and her brow quirking as she was met with the sight of him standing there and fidgeting, his eyes failing to meet hers and in his hands... Two cups of steaming coffee(?).

She stared, her brow quirking further at the cups of liquid and Hawks finally spared a glance up at her, smiling so very nervously.

"I spotted this little coffee stand a bit over that way, and it smelled good, so..." He told her, his head tilt in the direction of 'that way' and what little confidence he had had to start the interaction seeming to fade the more he talked. "... Ah... I figured a cup of coffee sounded nice, since we've hit a bit of a break in things to do and fix and whatnot...!" He said quickly, his hand extending with a cup toward her and she blinked at it and not him. "... So maybe we can just chill for a little, and have a drink, yeah...? I brought sugar and cream packets and stuff, since I don't know how you like your coffee...uh..." He broke off, suddenly looking even more nervous as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "... Ah... or even if you like coffee...?" He added uncertainly, and Spirit sighed internally.

 _He's turned into a nervous wreck around me... My fault, yeah...?_

 _His fault too_

 _... But what does he think coffee is gonna do though? Hammer in the 'I'm sorry' just that little bit more?_

 _... You're god damn tiring, Feathers_

Despite the annoyance that flared anew in her core, her hand moved up and took the cup he was offering. Hawks looked at her in surprise, his fingers releasing the cup the instant she grabbed it and staring as she seemed to huff.

"Coffee is fine." She grumbled, her eyes falling closed as she lift the cup up to her nose and sniffed at it. "... And I drink it black, so I hope you didn't stuff your pockets full with sugar and whatever else, Bird-Boy."

Hawks stared, his jaw dropping slightly and his heart fluttering at the fact that she had accepted the drink, and his eyes shone at the sudden appearance of the 'Bird-Boy' jibe.

Ever since the whole unpleasantness at the start, Spirit had said little to him and when she did she'd been pointedly lacking on what array of jibes and nicknames he had grown accustomed to from her. No calling him 'Feathers' or 'Bird-Boy', 'Bird-Brain' or even 'Feather-Fuck'. She'd only referred to him as _Hawks_ the whole night, and there was always so much venom in her voice when she did so, it was spine-chilling.

But to suddenly have 'Bird-Boy' pop back into the picture made his heart pick up, and a small fraction of that tightly wound knot he was in seemed to unwind too.

 _Does that mean she's calming down, just a little?_

 _And maybe... I haven't totally screwed things up?_

His eyes gleamed even more as he watched Spirit press her lips against the edge of the cup and take a drink.

His small smile grew a bit, and a bit more confident as his now free hand fell into his pocket, humming to himself as he dug around in it for a moment. Spirit cracked an eye open as he did so, about to remind him on her no need for sugar or anything since that was what she assumed he was doing, but she never got to it.

"The Coffee guy was selling these little Thirteen Marshmallows too~! They looked pretty good, so I figured I'd grab a few~" Hawks hummed, and both Spirit's eyes opened in the slightest bit of intrigue. "They're supposed to go in your coffee, but if you like it all bitter and stuff, ya can just eat them normally~!" He said brightly, his hand pulling back out of his pocket with a small plastic bag filled with said 'Thirteen Marshmallows'.

"He said he switches out Hero Marshmallows every day, so today was Thirteen Themed and he said tomorrow is gonna be Fat Gum themed~" Hawks went on, already pulling out one of the marshmallows (setting his coffee down on a feather that detached itself and floated at his side). "So if ya feel up to it, maybe we can hit up the same stand some other time, and see what Hero Marshmallow is on for the day~?"

He pulled one out and smiled, handing it out toward Animal Spirit, who watched his hand and nothing else, quiet as she stared at the palm-sized, black, white and yellow treat. There was a small second where Spirit didn't react to the offering, before her hand extended and took the marshmallow in between her fingers, her expression utterly unreadable as she looked it over. It was simple, shaped into the outline of Thirteen's rather oval-ish body with little grooves where their suit ruffled. There was darker paint on the head with little white light that resembled Thirteen's helmet, and there was even little yellow shoes on the bottom.

"It's actually pretty cool, yeah~?" Hawks went on, "It's like super simple, but it totally looks like Thirteen~! And it's kinda cute~" he chuckled, his smile lingering even as Spirit remained utterly expressionless as she looked at the treat. He smiled a bit more as she brought it up a bit more in front of her face, her red eyes trailing over the food as she gave it a few, evaluative squeezes. Her eyes narrowed slightly, almost pensive as he let out a silent breath. "I bet it totally tastes as good as it looks~!" He assured, but Spirit still didn't look at him.

He waved a hand a bit, his lacking cheer the last few hours suddenly reignited, at least a little.

"I might have to contact some dessert companies about coining one of these little guys after me~! I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd like to get a taste of a Hawk-mallow~!" He smiled, "What do ya think, Spirit-?"

His suddenly carefree attitude broke off abruptly as Spirit's lips pulled down at the corners, and she suddenly lift the Thirteen Treat up to her mouth and her teeth bit down on it's head with an audible _snap_ \- and then she promptly _ripped_ the whole head off from the body and started chewing.

Hawks recoiled, a cold chill running up his spine and utterly horrified at how violently she had decapitated the poor Marshmallow Thirteen. And then she kept chewing like it was the most normal thing ever... _Oh my god!_

 _She has no remorse!_

His hand fell over his mouth as he sucked in a sharp breath of air, sweating up a storm as she stood there chewing away at her victim's head with the utmost calm and neutrality and normalcy. It... It was _disturbing_..!

 _S-she's an animal!_

Spirit popped the rest of the headless 'Thirteen' into her mouth and started chewing that too, her eyes closed and completely unaware of what horrified look Hawks had on his face. Her now free hand found her hip as she chewed the last bit, before moving to take another drink of the coffee, and Hawks did his best to shake off his discomfort- with little luck. Because somehow the next thought that came to his mind was an image of Spirit savagely ripping the head off one of the 'Hawk-Mallows', and he visibly paled, his hand falling to brush against his neck as he gulped.

 _S-scary..._

Spirit took another drink and finally let her eyes open again as she glanced to him, and blinked upon seeing how uneasy he looked.

"... What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" She muttered lowly, and he jumped.

"N-nothing...!" He stammered and she gave him a look that clearly said she didn't believe him, but she shook her head and sighed.

"Then drink your coffee already, dumbass." She muttered hotly and he nodded, snatching his coffee up from where it had been on his feather and quickly taking one, two, and several drinks in rapidity. Spirit watched him practically gulp his drink down, his eyes averted from her the whole time and stiff as a board with his feathers fluffed up, almost like he was afraid of something...?

 _Oi... I can't with you, Feathers..._

"... A... Uhm... Do you... Want another one, Spirit...?" Hawks after his rapid drinking, his eyes seemingly having a hard time staying on her as he lift the bag of marshmallows up a bit in gesture.

"No." she grumbled lowly, and he seemed to let out a silent sigh of relief, though she hadn't a clue why. She bit the inside of her cheek, holding the coffee cup up just in front of her lips and grumbling as she watched him put the bag back in his pocket, and then pull a marshmallow out for himself. He carefully dropped the little 'Thirteen' in his coffee cup and watched it melt away on top until only the head was put together, before he took another (tentative) sip. Spirit let her eyes close,

Apparently his suddenly aflame confidence and cheeriness was gone again, and replaced with that same unease he had had for hours now... _Fucking hell_

 _... You can probably afford to be at least polite, Spirit... But damned if I wanna be..._

"... Thanks for the coffee, Bird-Boy..." She said softly and he blinked in surprise at the sudden words. Spirit didn't look up again though, and there was only a small pause before she kept talking. "... But next time ask me beforehand. I don't want you paying for me so often." Spirit mumbled lowly, he wilted a little.

"I don't mind paying, ya know... I mean, money really isn't an issue or anything..." He told her quietly, she huffed.

" _I_ mind." She grumbled lowly and he swallowed a bit, before nodding slightly and glancing away.

"... sorry..." He mumbled softly, she shook her head but let it be.

There was awhile of silence again as they stood alone in that park, sipping at their coffees and listening to the distant and slowly fading sound of radio-chatter and sirens, and then the persistent low drone of Hawks' music being the only thing between them.

Spirit's head tilted back as she swallowed the last bit of coffee left in the cup, and sighed as she ran a hand through her bangs a few times, waiting for the bitter and warm liquid to settle in the base of her stomach. It was a pleasant sensation, regardless if the weather wasn't really suited for the temperature of the drink itself... and it was even more pleasant a sensation of filling her empty stomach.

 _...mmmm... maybe I'm hungry... when was the last time I ate...?_

 _... back at the club, yeah...? I was so worked up after meeting the Director, and then with Hawks... I didn't think about it..._

 _... ugh... fuck today..._

Spirit pulled her phone from the pocket in her suit, clicking the screen to life for only a few seconds and only long enough to see the time and what few notification were available for her to see.

 _2:46 am_

She tapped the lock button and the screen shut off, her hand replacing the device back in her pocket and casting Hawks a glance. He was where he had been standing, coffee half-drunk and fidgeting with his jacket collar and headphones both.

"Oi, Bird-Boy." Spirit murmured, catching his immediate attention and breaking the silence in an instant. Hawks eyes found Spirit's red ones and he blinked, "I'm gonna head home. Everything's gotten slow, and I'm tired." She grumbled and he nodded slightly,

"...ah... ok." He mumbled, Spirit waved a hand at him dismissively and started to walk passed him. Hawks stepped to the side a bit and turned to watch her go, chewing the inside of his cheek and pensive as he watched her move away. He grimaced to himself, rocking back and forth on his heels a few times before he shook his head at himself.

"Ah, sweet dreams, Spirit...!" He called quickly as she got a few dozen feet away, a little late sure, but at least he said something, yeah...?

Spirit's head twitched slightly at the sound of his voice, her steps slowing just ever so little as she slowly cast a glance over her shoulder and back toward him. Their eyes met for half a second, her expression unreadable to him and he really, really tried... but she looked away again, their gazes broken.

Spirit's hand lift, waving just once, and Hawks' eyes gleamed as his heart skipped a beat.

"... see ya, Feathers."

 **.:+:.**

 _... Leave it to today to be slow as hell..._

Spirit sighed as she leaned over the bar a bit, her elbows propped up on the countertop and cheeks in her hands. Around her the club was filled with the same music and smokey atmosphere, and the girls were milling about... Just lazily, and the usual chatter was low to nonexistent, and all because there was a curious lack of customers today.

And remember that exhaustion and tiredness she had creeping up ever so slowly at 2 something in morning?

Well it was now 11 something in the morning- and yes, close to the end of her shift- and she was all but asleep on her feet, and the lack of anything to do outside of filling the cup of the one guy at the bar was not helping to keep her awake and motivated. And the realization that she wouldn't even be able to head home and straight to bed after her Shift made it worse. She had supplies to go out and buy and things to pick up from the Support Office (her Hero Uniform in particular) and all these other little things to settle and put together for that Internship coming in the next two days...

... Ah, she had already cleared away a schedule change with the owner of the club. As much as she hated it, she was now slated to work from 6 to 2 in the morning- in other words?

 _Happy (rush) hour_

The biggest block of time for the club and the most crowded and popular. Where all the actual shows were scheduled and the most people showed up and goggled and drank and generally made a big fucking mess.

 _Ugh_

But what was she to do? She had to make sacrifices for this Internship thing, and grumble as she would on the inside, she would deal with it.

 _It's only a week, Spirit... You can last a week._

... Or at least, she hoped so.

She took some solace in the fact that tips would be better during this shift of hours than her regular one. But only some... Though honestly at that moment she was too tired to get worked up about the thought. She really wanted to sleep, but sleep would have to come after everything else.

 _I hate myself... Why do I always do this?_

 _Never think ahead? Put myself in situations where I don't have time to sleep? Just generally kill what little of a 'normal' sleep schedule I have?_

 _... I'm a fucking idiot..._

"Kage, seeing as how things are slow, would you come with me for a little?"

Spirit blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of Tenshi's voice to her left, and glanced over toward the older woman quickly. Tenshi was standing at the entrance to the back of the bar, cigarette in hand and heavy-lidded eyes halfway open as she caught Spirit's 'blue' eyes.

"Hmm? Do you need me to do something for you?" Spirit asked, Tenshi shook her head a waved a hand for her to follow.

"No, nothing like that." She murmured, already heading away as Spirit quickly moved to follow. She rounded the bar and stepped out onto the floor after the older woman, casting a quick glance backwards and at the bar only occupied by one person, before settling all her attention on Tenshi.

"So what's up then?" Spirit asked, the two of them skirting around the lounge and what spare few people were in it as they headed steadily toward a side hallway, and subsequently toward the doors attached to it.

"Hmm? I already told you, didn't I?" Tenshi replied dryly, and Spirit blinked in question.

 _Ah... No...?_

Tenshi slowed up outside a door that lead to the dressing rooms, apparently taking Spirit's lack of answer as answer and sighing slightly.

"You need to introduce yourself to the new girl." Tenshi elaborated dryly and Spirit's eyes widened slightly, her thoughts clicking together quickly.

"Oooh," Spirit hummed, "I forgot about that, sorry..."

"Hmph... Well this will be her first day actually working, so do us a favor and be nice to her, alright?" Tenshi grumbled and Spirit sighed internally, though she smiled anyway.

"I'm always nice, Tenshi..." She pointed out lightly, and the older woman huffed.

"To the people you know, yes." the older woman agreed dryly, "To everyone else though, you are little bit frigid. You do realize that most everyone thinks you're a Stiff, right?"

 _A Stiff? Seriously...? Like... like a prude or something...?_

"Ah, that's not fair..." Spirit mumbled as they pushed through the door,

"It is the truth." Tenshi mumbled, and this time Spirit shut up. Because... Well, maybe she had a point.

Spirit was not under any sort of delusion that she was all that likeable of a person, or that she didn't rub people the wrong way... _That's just... Me._

 _But a Stiff, seriously...? Is that really how everyone sees me...?_

She bit the inside of her cheek a little, her eyes falling to the floor for a moment.

 _...huh..._

Many of the girls sitting closest to the door looked up and around as Spirit (or rather _Kage_ ) and Tenshi walked in, small smiles gracing their faces and smirks too.

"Ah, Kage~! Been awhile since you've visited us back here."

"Heard you're switching to Happy Hour for the next week?"

"Oooh, you think you can handle the rush? Hehe.."

Spirit smiled coolly at the calls and questions, "I'm sure I can handle it just fine." She replied, and the girls exchanged looks, smirking at one another.

"We'll see~!" Two of them cooed in a sing-song voice, and Spirit grimaced internally.

"Ah, give me some credit." Spirit chuckled, they just laughed. "I can handle the bar at any time, happy hour included."

"Oh we know you can _bartend_ through anything, Kage~!" Jishi hummed brightly, her orange eyes glittering as she tapped a finger to her cheek. "But we all know you don't like any of the boys fooling around, and they're bound to be very interested in you~! You're not the usual thing they see behind the bar, ya know~!"

"Mhmm, you think you can handle all their advances?" Hana asked slyly, Spirit sighed internally.

 _They really do think I'm some sort of prude, huh...?_

 _... I just... oi..._

"I'm sure I'll be okay." Spirit replied softly, but there was only a few shrugs and smiles in return.

"Ah, leave poor Kage alone~!" Bisha hummed, "She's a tough girl, she'll be okay~!"

Hana and Jishi laughed, exchanging glanced with one another. "Tough _attitude_ maybe, but have you seen her Bisha? Kage's real skinny~!" They called back without skipping a beat, and Spirit sighed, again.

"Play nice! Kage can take care of herself as well as the rest of us, I'm sure~!" Bisha quipped back, and Spirit just smiled wearily.

 _Little do you know..._

"Now, you're here to see the newbie, yeah?" Bisha went on, catching Spirit's eyes as Tenshi moved off and toward her own little corner with little a word or glance back. Spirit offered up a small smile and a nod,

"Yep." She hummed back and Bisha grinned, her hands clapping together in front of her (oh, and only about half-dressed... Not that Spirit minded, or Bisha for that matter, or anyone else. Most of them were half-dressed or near...).

"Great, come with me Kage~!" Bisha replied brightly, her hands snapping forward toward Spirit and hooking her arm inside the Pro's. Spirit stumbled slightly as Bisha jerked her forward and further into the dressing room/studio.

"We're thinking we'll have her start with serving drinks on the floor, and then ease her into stagework and dances and things." Bisha explained as they headed further in, arms still interlocked. "Which means she'll be seeing a lot of you for her first few shifts after today with Jeriko. So better if you two get to know each other, and get along before the start~"

"... Alright." Spirit murmured, "And I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Why do you and Tenshi seem to think I'm going to scare her off?"

"Hehe, cause you're so imposing!" Bisha replied, bright as ever and not missing a beat. Spirit blinked,

 _So first I'm frigid, and a Stiff, too skinny and now I'm imposing?_

Spirit smiled wearily, letting out a small, slightly amused breath

 _These girls can kill anyone's self esteem without batting an eye, huh?_

"Aww, don't take it the wrong way Kage! You just don't come off as super friendly right away, not until someone gets to know you some more~!" Bisha hummed, "We all like you, ya know~ It's just the newbie is like _super_ shy and nervous, and none of us have had much luck getting her to relax just yet~! So you're kinda our secret weapon! We're betting on the two of you getting along is all~"

"Oh, is that it? We're depending on my 'stellar social skills? No pressure at all!" Spirit murmured, smiling still as her tone became something more teasing.

"Hehe, see? You're funny, Kage~" Bisha chuckled, "And really no pressure, you'll be fine, just be yourself~!"

 _Heh, my Stiff, frigid, imposing and bitchy self?_

 _Hawks would probably agree on those last three after last night..._

Bisha kept tugging Spirit forward as they headed toward the back of the studio and closer to wherever the newbie was. Spirit hummed a bit under her breath, "So, how old is she anyway? Tenshi said she was young, but if she's as nervous as you say..." Bisha smiled still, though the brightness faded a bit and Spirit's eyes narrowed slightly.

"She's 17." Bisha replied, Spirit blinked.

 _... Ah..._

She nodded, and Bisha smiled a little bit more, before they drew to a halt behind a girl sitting at one of the mirrors and all her attention fixed on the makeup she was somewhat excessively (or maybe anxiously) organizing on the tabletop. Spirit's arm got released by Bisha as she stepped up to the young girl's side, smiling as she leaned over a bit and lightly tapped her arm. The poor girl nearly jumped out of her skin, her head snapping around toward Bisha and looking stricken.

"Okita~!" Bisha trilled, her hand retracting as both her hands swept out to gesture toward Spirit almost in exaggeration. "I brought Kage to see ya~! You two get to chit-chatting, you'll be seeing one another a lot the next few days with you runnin' drinks back and forth from the bar~! Kage's shift is near over for today, so spend the rest of the time getting to know each other before you go and meet up with Jeriko, kay~?" Bisha hummed brightly, her eyes darting from Okita and toward Spirit. "I'm gonna leave you two to chat, have fun~!" Bisha hummed, her eyes glittering as she patted Kage on the shoulder and slid passed her, nearly skipping back the way they had come.

Spirit spared a glance after Bisha for only a single second, before she glanced at Okita as the younger girl turned around in her seat, slowly.

She was small, petite nearly and several inches shorter than Spirit was (at a guess, she wasn't standing at the moment), with a thin frame and tan skin. Her long hair reached her lower back and was curled at the ends, going from a pale baby blue to white near the bottom, and her purple eyes gleamed as she met Spirit's 'blue' ones and there was a small moment of sheer silence between them.

Spirit blinked, taking in a silent breath as she took a swift look-over of the new girl, oblivious to the somewhat stunned look she received from Okita in return.

 _Huh... she's pretty. And her hair reminds me of..._

Spirit cast the thought off and offered up a gentle smile to the girl, her hand lifting in a small wave.

 _Be nice, Spirit_

"Hey, nice to meet you." Spirit hummed softly, and Okita blinked, the slightly stunned expression on her face fading before it was replaced with something more... flustered?

Okita's face flushed, her cheeks staining bright red and nearly steaming as her purple eyes darted away from Spirit entirely, her hands moving up to brush her bangs from her face almost fitfully. Spirit's head tilted at the reaction, her smile faltering in uncertainty as she watched the young girl fidget in her chair and with her bangs and avoid looking at Spirit at all.

 _Ah... Okay...? Shy, right...?_

Spirit's hand fell, biting the inside of her cheek as she moved and pulled a chair at the next mirror closer, and took a seat beside the still blushing newbie.

Maybe this would be good practice? For talking to someone younger, highschool age? Sorta?

 _Yeah we're gonna go with that  
_

"Ah, I'm Kage, like Bisha said." Spirit hummed, "And you're Okita, yeah? It's good to have you here, I'm sure you're gonna do great." Spirit told her gently, and Okita switched from messing with her bangs to pretty much hiding her face in her hands, Spirit wilted.

 _... This is going well..._

She blinked, her head tilting slightly as Okita's hair shifted and her ears poked out from the pale colored stands. They were pointed at the top, not drastically, but enough to notice since it differed from the 'normal' human physique. Grant you nowadays there were so many people who looked less human than they used to before Quirks kicked in, so a bit of an odd appearance here or an extra appendage there was nothing anyone even bated an eye at anymore. And Spirit didn't either, at least not in any sense where she was off put or had distaste for the 'mutation', but she did notice, and the minute she did there was one thought that came to mind;

 _She's an elf_

... Which could be deemed offensive, if said out loud, or if certain people knew she had even thought that, but... Yeah, totally an elf.

 _Huh_

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek a bit and forced herself a silent breath. "... Sorry, I wasn't trying to make you nervous or anything." Spirit apologized softly, Okita seemed to stiffen at it. "We don't have to talk if you'd rather not, as long as we at least got introduced and saw each other face to face before you start running orders for me, we can leave the 'chit-chat' alone." Spirit explained.

Okita shook her head slightly, her hands falling slightly to hold on to her bangs fitfully as her eyes finally moved upward toward Spirit again. She blushed again, just faintly as she seemed to chew the insides of her cheeks, and her voice was shaky as she managed her first bit of reply. "U-uhm, no... I'm sorry, I d-don't mind talking... I'm just not really good at talking to... people, sometimes..." The young girl explained quietly, and Spirit smiled a bit. "... sorry... I just... I haven't gotten used to the idea... of working here just yet... I'm trying to, but I... uh..."

"Hmm, don't worry, I understand." Spirit cut her off gently and Okita nodded a bit, her eyes darting to the side and away from Spirit. "You don't need to jump in straight off, we can ease you into things at any pace you need to start with." Okita nodded again, the flush in her cheeks seeming to deepen for a small second.

"...T...Thank you..." she nearly breathed, and Spirit's eyes flashed a bit as she mused for a few seconds on her next words.

"... you do realize that even if you're just taking orders and delivering drinks the next few days, you're still gonna get... eh, goggled at by the costumers, yeah?" Spirit asked softly, and Okita seemed to wilt at it.

"... I know." She mumbled, her blushing dying quickly as she sighed. "... and that part won't bother me, I promise... I can handle getting looked at, and flirted with and talked to and everything..."

"... Alright." Spirit hummed, "But you can step away and come behind the bar with me if you need a break, okay? Just until you get settled in... and you can tell me or any of the other girls and the security if someone's really bothering you, or making you feel uncomfortable, kay?" Spirit told her, and Okita glanced back her way in surprise, those purple eyes glittering as she seemed a little taken aback, before she smiled softly.

"Thank you." She murmured softly, and Spirit nodded.

"Yep." She hummed with ease and Okita seemed to relax a bit more at the reply, "I assume Tenshi and everyone else already made it clear that you're in charge of who's allowed to have any sort of contact with you, while you're here?" Spirit asked next, and Okita nodded firmly.

"Yes ma'am." She replied without skipping a beat, and Spirit internally winced at the name, though outwardly she just smiled... if a bit awkwardly.

"... good, and ah... you don't need to call me ma'am." Spirit replied, Okita blinked. "Kage is fine, there's no need to be so formal..." The younger girl blushed again, looking flustered at being corrected and nodding quickly.

"A..alright..." Okita stammered slightly, her nervousness suddenly reignited, though Spirit wasn't sure why. Not that she lingered on it too long-

"So, did you have any questions for me about what you'll be doing? I realize you'll be working with Jeriko for today, but it's not much different between working with me or him." Spirit asked, changing the subject in little time and deliberately steering toward something easier (and less awkward) to talk about. Okita shook her head, her hands falling from tugging at her bangs and folding in her lap instead.

"No, I think I understand." She murmured, shrugging slightly. "... I mean, taking drink orders shouldn't be too hard, and I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping track of who ordered what... I'm pretty good at memorizing things, so..." She explained, trailing off a bit as if she was afraid she was rambling or saying too much. Spirit let out a soft breath,

"That'll help." She mused and Okita nodded slightly to the comment. "And if you do ever have any questions, everyone here will be happy to help, alright?" Okita nodded,

"Okay." She hummed, "... thank you, I'll try not to be a bother or anything..." She added nervously, and Spirit shook her head slightly.

"Don't worry about it." She replied, leaning back in her chair a bit and propping her elbow up on the table. "And like I said, we don't have to chat if you don't want to just yet. I'm perfectly fine sitting here for the rest of my shift and just relaxing a bit." Spirit told her, smirking wearily as she waved a hand back toward where the other girls were a bit further away. "Besides, it's usually pretty entertaining to just listen to everyone else chatter away." She chuckled softly, and Okita smiled a little in amusement.

"... they do talk a lot..." Okita murmured quietly, her purple gaze trailing sideways toward the group of Bisha, Tenshi and Hana talking away and without a care in the world. "... they really seem to like gossiping..." The young girl added sheepishly, Spirit smirked wryly.

"That's an understatement." She quipped back with ease, and Okita smiled a bit more at that. She nodded, though she didn't reply anything and that was plenty fine. The both of Spirit and Okita fell into a somewhat content silence, and they stayed there with Spirit's eyes falling closed after Okita's attention moved to watch the other girls talk away. Spirit let out a soft breath, her finger tapping against her jaw at what bit of calm started to settle in instead of the slight tension and nervousness to start.

 _Ah... well, we managed to make introductions and talk a bit, huh? And she seems like she's relaxed a bit after the start and seeming so embarrassed out of nowhere..._

 _Seems I can talk to younger people... maybe I'm not screwed on this Internship after all, huh?_

 _Hmm... it's gonna feel like I'm running two Internships, isn't it? Both as a Pro and here at the Club... hopefully it's not bad timing... and hopefully things go smoothly on both ends._

Spirit cracked an eye open to shoot Okita a look, but the girl was very much interested in what Bisha and everyone else were talking about, though Spirit hadn't payed any mind to the rumble of their voices.

 _I hope she'll be okay... she is super young, and with how nervous she seems... is she gonna handle all the customers and their attention okay...? Even if she said she could, well... this isn't an easy environment to work and thrive in... even I couldn't really handle all the goggling and flirting and other bullshit._

 _... but then again, that is me... she might be fine._

 _... damn I hope both this, and the Internship with the UA kid go okay... for once, please... I know the last time I asked for something to go my way, I ended up facing Stain and-_

She forced a silent breath, shaking her head at herself slightly. She felt the heaviness of her eyelids after opening them again, and since sitting down her exhaustion was steadily getting worse. To the point that now, getting up from the chair was an unpleasant thought, and the weight of her chin in her hand was getting unconsciously heavier. If she wasn't careful, she might just doze off sitting there like that- and with that in mind she turned her attention on looking over the various items on dressing table where Okita was sitting.

Her chin lift from her hand a little as her lazily scanning eyes found the girl's phone laying face-down on the tabletop, and subsequently, the various stickers she had stuck to the phone case itself.

Spirit grimaced, swallowing slightly as she felt her heart skip a beat and her stomach twist a bit uncomfortably- and all of that paired with the utterly unpleasant feeling of her face heating up. And she sorely hoped it wasn't noticeable,

 _Oh you have gotta be..._

"... eh, Okita..?" Spirit murmured before she had a chance to stop herself, and the girl jumped slightly, looking Spirit's way in question.

"Yes..?"

"... are you, uh... do you like... cats...?" Spirit asked slowly, her hand gesturing toward the phone and the numerous black cat stickers littered across the case. And she hoped the answer was yes- cats are cute right? And popular? Who wouldn't like cats...?

... though the fact they were all black and had red eyes immediately gave her the sinking suspicion that instead-

"... or are you... an Animal Spirit fan...?" Spirit finished slowly, her voice dropping despite herself and Okita seemed to flush again, embarrassment rising anew as she struggled to keep a steady eye on Spirit and what utterly blank look appeared on the older woman's face. Okita's hands found that same fidgety hold on her bangs and she twirling her fingers around the strands, blushing again as she nodded tentatively.

"... uhm... yes..." She nearly whispered, blushing further when Spirit's hand fell almost limp at the reply. "I'm, ah... she's my favorite Hero...! And the stickers were so cute, I couldn't resist..." She explained quickly, Spirit felt her stomach twist further.

 _... geez... of course... damn it, now I feel flustered. Fuck me._

"She's really cool, I've been a big fan pretty much since she became a full Pro..!" Okita went on, embarrassed and as flustered as Spirit felt, though Spirit was doing her utmost to keep a straight face and just nod along with the younger girl as she rambled a bit. "I-it's been really awesome seeing her rising in the Rankings and everything...! A-and her Quirk is cool too..!" Spirit nodded again though she was chewing her cheeks incessantly now, and hand moved her hand to hold her chin and cover her mouth a bit as she listened.

 _... and don't get me wrong, I'm flattered, sure... but it's just... this is gonna be awkward..! I have to work with this kid and if she's a fan of me, that'll just... it makes it weird! Especially if she wants to talk about me, and she doesn't know it's_ _ **me**_ _...! I don't ever have to be around fans for more than a few minutes out on Patrol or whatever..._

"I like her cat form the best, cause I like cats just by themselves, and Animal Spirit is really, really good at using her Quirk and different forms to fight...!" Okita went on, smiling slightly to herself. "It's amazing to watch her work and fight, for what little news or video coverage there is about it..! She's so strong and capable and confident, I'm actually a bit jealous of that, heh..." Spirit swallowed,

 _... I really hate how popular I am sometimes... And I'm honestly not that confident... Ugh, damn me_

"Okita~! Do I hear you right, we're talking about Animal Spirit~?!" Jishi's loud voice cut in from across the room, and Spirit's eyes dropped closed as she groaned internally.

 _Oh please no-_

Jishi popped into the small circle consisting of Okita and Spirit, bright-eyed and grinning as Hana, Bisha and a few of the other girls in tow (Aimi, Kaoru, Shiga and Toyo... In short, TOO MANY PEOPLE)

They bunched in around the both of Spirit and Okita, and Spirit hid the bottom half of her face behind her hand as she sat in stiff silence.

 _Fuck. Me._

"O-oh, uhm, yes..." Okita replied, stammering slightly.

"Oh yeah! There's some juicy stuff about her right now!" Jishi trilled, Spirit quirked a brow but stayed utterly quiet.

 _Oh really?_

Jishi whipped her phone from where it had been tucked into her bra, tapping against the screen frantically and with a newfound energy that seemed inappropriate just then. "So if you're a big fan, you're pretty up to date on all the news about her, yeah?" Jishi asked as she continued to flip through her phone, "All that stuff About Stain, and about who she's been hanging around with?"

"... Oh, yes..." Okita murmured softly, a bit of somberness appearing in her at mention of Stain- and Spirit felt it too, but she was more interested in 'hanging around with'.

 _Again, please no-_

Jishi thrust her phone forward and toward Okita (and subsequently Spirit), a blog or whatever pulled up with a photo and a headline that read;

 _'Animal Spirit and Hawks Coffee Date?'_

 _Oh you have got to be kidding me_

Spirit's eyes narrowed to slits as she looked the photo over, grumbling under her breath at the picture that seemed to have been shot from a low angle and off to the side and in the trees and bushes or whatever a ways away from where she and Hawks were standing on the pathway. That same park they had been in at 2ish that morning and drinking the coffee that Hawks bought on a whim, or some sort of apology. The camera was far enough away you couldn't make out either her expression or Hawks', which was probably a good thing considering the mood had been little but electric... Of course that being said, without being able to see their faces, the picture _did_ make it look like that were a pair of friends or whatever on a little 'coffee date'.

Though she was a little miffed that there had been some paparazzi person hiding in the bushes and taking photos this morning, and she hadn't realized it.

 _Twit_

"So, what do you make of all these sightings of Animal Spirit and Hawks together, huh?" Jishi pressed of Okita, "They've hung out more and more recently and they even Patrolled together last night! A bunch of people are starting to think they might be partnering up!" Jishi announced, her orange eyes flashing. "It's either that or they're _dating_!" Spirit's jaw clenched as her teeth ground together.

 _Fuck no!_

"Yeah, wasn't there some rumors that they went to dinner together at one of those all Pro places too?" Aimi butted in,

"Yeah! And he was totally boasting about her with the Press after she caught a group of bad-guys!" Hana said, "Hawks has been awfully chummy about Animal Spirit lately! He's not been like that about other Pros, right?"

"Nope!"

"You think we're gonna get an announcement they're a couple, eh Okita?" Jishi asked, rounding the conversation back on the newbie.

"O-oh, I'm not... Sure...?" Okita stammered uncertainly, Jishi nodded a bit and huffed.

"Well I certainly hope not! I don't wanna have to consider Animal Spirit a rival in terms of Hawks' attention!" Jishi said simply, and she earned nods from several of the other girls while Spirit just stared.

"Yeah! I like her too much to have to hate her for hogging Hawks all to herself~" Bisha chuckled,

"It's not like he'll ever know you exist." Hana smirked, Bisha and Jishi waved the comment off.

"Doesn't matter! If Animal Spirit snatches that man away from the rest of us, we can't just let that slide!" Bisha and Jishi announced in unison.

"I'd be way too jealous of her for getting Hawks all to herself!" Jishi groaned, "That man is just so god-damn _hot!"_

"No kidding, I'd be pretty jealous too." Bisha sighed, smirking a moment as she shrugged. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek as she suppressed the urge to sigh out loud.

 _...hmph... Of course they're all over Bird-Boy... Most woman are, huh...?_

 _... If only they knew how much of a fucking child he is, and how annoying... Oi..._

"Though I'd be disappointed that Animal Spirit wouldn't be single anymore either." Bisha went on, tapping her finger to her cheek in musing, Spirit blinked at that. "I mean I don't usually swing for girls, but Animal Spirit is pretty hot too~!" Bisha trilled,

"Mhmm~!" Hana hummed, and there were several other nods of agreement and whatnot that rippled among the girls. Even Okita nodded, though she ducked her head rather shyly as if she didn't want anyone to notice her silent agreement.

Spirit felt her heart skip a beat, her face on fire and glad she wasn't blushing when she cast a quick glance at herself in the mirror to make sure. She ground her teeth together and averted her eyes from the gossiping and cooing woman altogether, grumbling silently.

 _Fucking kill me now..._

 **.:+:.**

"... See ya... Feathers..."

Hawks sighed, plopping himself onto his bed in a mess of pillows and sheets and red feathers. He lay there, spread out and staring at the roof, Animal Spirit's parting three words playing through his mind and over his tongue on repeat since parting ways with her.

His hand dug in his jacket pocket as he pulled out the bag of marshmallows absentmindedly and popped one into his mouth.

"... She called me Feathers again..." He mumbled around the food, his eyes tracing over the spare few shadows on the ceiling.

His lips twitched upward at the edges, slightly, hesitantly so as he felt his core knot and his heart flutter all at once.

"... See ya... Does that mean see you later...?" He mumbled aloud, his hand moving to put another space-suited marshmallow in his mouth. He chewed a few times, tapping his fingers against his chest, musing. "... Did I not screw my chance up again, then...?" He asked of no one in particular, "... And that means we'll hang out again...? Maybe without her being all pissed at me...?"

He tossed another marshmallow in his mouth, and hummed a bit as his smile got a little less uneasy.

"... I mean it wasn't so bad, yeah? After that first bit...? She was like super mad at me... scary mad... and she seemed miffed the whole time... but if she started calling me 'Bird-Boy' and 'Feathers' again... that's a good sign, right...?" He murmured, still chewing. "... and she didn't straight up say that I messed up again, yeah...? She was a little stingy about the coffee but she still drank it... and said thanks... so 'see ya' has gotta mean that I still have a chance, right...?"

He pulled out another marshmallow and bit into the top of it, though he made no move to actually chew any off.

"... that's totally it, yeah...?" He asked softly, his eyes gleaming.

But honestly, how could he know? Animal Spirit was in all regards, the biggest, most enigmatic, mysterious, grumpy (and quite frankly _bipolar_ ) person he had ever met in his life. One minute she was touchy and irritable and the next she was so utterly emotionless and calm, and then after that?

Livid, or steely, or even passionate- and always about the most surprising, curious, and shocking things. Like about him and his trying to play off Endeavor as his favorite Hero? Or about how she'd told him not to jump into things, or leave people behind? Or even how stony she had been when she talked to the Press after the whole Stain thing?

Hell, what about _during_ the fight with Stain? The Animal Spirit he had seen in that security footage was unlike anything he'd ever seen in her. She was so _fierce_ , and so steadfast in her movements and her actions and her want to protect Ingenium. He wasn't sure he'd seen many other Pros with that much determination, especially in the face of a Villain such as Stain.

And she switched between different attitudes so quickly it had him reeling more often than he liked to admit. Her anger and her ire and all her rage and for things he had no clue about or why it happened... And she was so fiery in all her emotions she was like... like a _whirlwind._

 _... all secrets and shadows and things... dark and mysterious but with a heart of gold... fiery and fierce and badass... and so, so interesting... and yet so secretive..._

He let out a long sigh, smiling wearily as he bit a little further into the marshmallow and he crossed his arms and rest them against his forehead.

"... man... why are you so hard to figure out, huh Spirit...?"

He slowly bit through the marshmallow and started to eat it all the way, his arms remaining where they were and sighing again.

 _... hmm... I didn't get to hear why she was at UA today, huh...? Not after she got all mad..._

"... shame, huh Hawksy...? That'd be an interesting story... she visiting someone...? Applying for a job, maybe...?" He mumbled to himself as he chewed the last of the marshmallow and swallowed. "Heh... Spirit-Sensei... somehow she doesn't strike me as the teaching type... but then again, she keeps surprising me... so who knows?" He chuckled softly, shaking his head slightly as he pulled his arms up off his forehead and let them fall out on either side of him.

 **.:+:.**

 _... His eyes gleamed, his attention breaking briefly from her face and toward her shoulder as he saw a haze of black-red begin to appear behind her, bits and pieces of the air wavering like black shards of glass. It was a cloud of distorted reality that slowly but surely started to condense and form something he'd seen before-_

 _She smirked, almost coy as she stepped up and passed him- her hands brushing along and parting the feathers in his wings as she kept walking, slow and purposeful as bits of black glass made of energy or whatever fell like a rain behind her. Dancing off and falling from the pair of large, slightly see-through, ghostly black wings at her back. Her red eyes caught his from the side in a single instant, her gaze glowing faintly- before their line of sight got broken. The simple sensation of her hand meeting his wing sent shivers up his spine. Her fingers ran through the feathers as she kept walking, his wings arching under the contact and stiff in his spot as he instinctively stretched them out behind him, following her movement and raising them up high as her hand left the sea of red. Her wings lift too, the topmost feathers brushing against his own and mixing- both wings extended in air and woven together here and there, both Pros standing with their backs to one another. Hawks with his hands in his coat pockets and head tilting back, smirking to himself and Spirit pausing, her hands on her hips and head tilted downward, smiling a bit._

 _Their feathers mixed, brushing against each other and clashing- his red and almost burning in the lights of the city nightlife around them... and hers dark and shimmering, swallowing up the light and ghostly- almost a shadow of his, reflected on water. A wash of glittering black sand in an ocean of fiery red, two pairs of giant, elegant wings touching and forming an arch- outlined in a backdrop of deep blue and the outline of rising buildings dotted among a night sky you couldn't see the stars in... and at either end the No. 26 and the No. 24, both of them smiling._  
 _The few, fleeting seconds Spirit paused in her walking and stayed like that with him- they seemed to stretch to something much longer, somehow... in it's own way it was almost ethereal..._

 **.:+:.**

Hawks smiled wryly as he stared at the ceiling, the marshmallows in his pocket completely forgotten in the quake of the memory, and the all too tangible sensation of their feathers intermingling suddenly running rampant through his body.

"Ah crap... I am _obsessed_ obsessed..."

* * *

 **Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this Chapter, and are excited for the next few! We'll be headed into the Internship with UA!**

 **Thank you all for reading, and your continued support! I appreciate all of you!**

 **Please, follow, fav and Review if ya can! Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12- Sensei

**Chapter 12**

 **Sensei**

 **.:+:.**

 _... In the end... This is as much my fault as it is his..._

 **.:+:.**

 _"... This has been a major upset in the Rankings!"_

 _"Tell me about it! It's not uncommon for a Pro to move up or down one, or even two Ranks in the span of a month or so, but it's nearly unheard of to move more than five spaces from where they last were!"_

 _"It's like they took the old list and just threw it out and made a whole new one!"_

 _"Now of course, we're not really surprised about Hawks jumping up more than a few. That boy has been hopping up several spaces on a constant loop the last year- so his sudden rise from 24 to 15 in the last month has no one surprised, yeah?"_

 _"Yeah, no one's shocked with his progress. Even though the last month hasn't had much going on for him- no big fights or showdowns to be heard of, but he has been busy. He's kept up with his Patrols and his media appearances, and of course- there is no shortage of talk about him, what with his sudden bout of friendliness with the Ebony Hero!"_

 _"-Who, is more the talk of Japan now after the Monthly Rankings were posted!"_

 _"Right, back to the real topic at hand! As much as we'd like to sing Hawks some more praises, this slot of time is reserved for the Ebony Hero herself- Animal Spirit!"_

 _"Now listeners if you haven't already seen it, the Monthly Rankings have been posted, and as always there has been a few changes in the tentative lineup for the year! A bit of the regular shuffling here and there on the lower half of the top 100, and of course Hawks' own continued rise. But the biggest upset of this month is the new Ranking that Animal Spirit is now settled at!"_

 _"Animal Spirit has now been placed in Rank No. 19! A_ ** _massive_** _leap up from her No. 26 ranking the last month! And in no doubt due to her excellent skills and strength shown in her harrowing battle against the Hero Killer, and her swift rescue of fellow Pro Hero Ingenium! A battle worthy of entering the top 20 in the matter of only a few weeks to be sure!"_

 _"There was talk that Animal Spirit would outplace Bryzair, the Hero who held the rank above her- but I'm sure no one expected her to surpass him, and so many others in so little time!"_

 _"And now we're all gonna have eyes on her! We're all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see how far she can go!"_

 _Message From: Death Arms_  
 _Congratulations, No. 19_

 **.:+:.**

"... Kitty...!"

A child's excited call stuck out among the rumble of voices and feet, shuttering closed doors, trains and masses moving all around in a constant cycle. The train station was full with people but not packed, the initial morning rush had already come and gone and now morning was setting in further as people made their way to and from wherever they were coming, and going.

It wasn't the first time some child had called out upon seeing her, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. But she hardly batted an eye as the small girl was tugged away by her mother's hand and on to the train they were meant to be on. Little anyone else payed the child's call any mind either, and those who did glanced up at her on her perch, curious, but quickly diverted in their attention by their own business.

 _Today is the day_

Spirit forced herself a breath that was meant to be calming, her ears twitching as she sat still as a statue atop a signpost overhanging and entrance into the station, overlooking the main floor and it's constant traffic and in and out of people and bullet-trains. Her tail curled over her paws as she kept her attention on the train pulling away from the station, and resulting in a slight lull of people walking around.

 _First day_

 _The_ first day... the first day in the last two where she had been fussing with getting ready and pulling everything together and setting her 'plans' in stone. She'd been hopping back and forth between the Support Office and the store and all places in between, and now today she hoped dearly that she hadn't forgotten anything.

 _I didn't right? I have my bag, I have supplies, I'm early and here and on time..._

She grumbled a bit, a growl in the back of her throat as she shook her head at herself.

 _Stop_

Every once in awhile someone payed her more mind and paused under her perch, smiling her way and offering up small 'hellos' or 'good mornings' from those who recognized her, or at least guessed... oh, and 'congrats on the new Ranking'.

She grumbled a bit more under her breath, ears twitching in exasperation.

 _Yes_... as of yesterday, she was in some technical sense now the No. 19 Hero, and not the No. 26.

But not really... well, not officially. The no shit, hardcore, _official_ rankings that dictated exactly what spot you were in were always announced at the end of the year. And _that_ Ranking was your actual one, and the one that stuck with you year-long until they released the new list in December.

What had the whole of Japan in an uproar about her now was just the Monthly, tentative, and very much _not_ official Rankings. The Monthly Rankings were scored in fairly the same way the Official ones were, taking into account Resolve Rates and Rescue statistics, as well as the number and type of incidents and fights a Pro was involved in. And then it paired all the normal and basic logistical stuff with more of the social side- how popular a Pro was with the general public, approval among the different tiers of people like businesses, police, political persons, etc. But as far as Spirit was aware, the Monthly Rankings were skewed more by the popularity portion of a Pro's career than they were meant to be. So, she was very much under the impression a large portion of why she'd suddenly skipped ahead 7 ranks was because of how (ridiculously) popular she was about the whole hanging around Hawks thing (the mess with Stain not included..). And with Hawks constantly moving up in the ranks from month to month, she was sure her 'relationship' with him had figuratively latched her onto what roll he was on.

So technically the whole No. 19 didn't count for much, she was still officially the No. 26, and she doubted she'd actually earn any different rank come December. To be entirely honest, the jump up to 19 confused the hell out of her, she couldn't see why she had gotten placed that high without the actual reasons being nonsense and bullshit... _So yeah, there's not a chance in hell I'm the No. 19. I'm pretty sure this is just a lot of hyped up nonsense._

And she kept to that idea even knowing, that come the end of the year, the final Monthly Ranking was pretty much always damn near close to what the Official Rankings turned out to be.

She shook her head and the thoughts off, deciding it better not to brood about it or the numerous people giving out praises for the new Rank- Death Arms included.

... _And_ Hawks. That had been a near immediate message over Instagram from Hawkward once the list got posted. And a very excited and overzealous one she hardly read more than two words of before feeling irritated.

She was _still_ irritated about what happened (now three nights ago) in the park and about finding out he was spying on her and near everyone else in the world. Her rage had dulled down considerably since then, and Hawks had seemed to have made an effort of not being an annoying child since. His messaging to her had all but ceased, and she'd not actually seen him, not even when she was out on Patrol.

And the reprieve was nice, and sorely needed, and it allowed her to settle out again and not be so worked up when she thought back on it. Because when she did think about the whole ordeal, she felt like she wanted to punch him in the face- but only when she thought about that specific incident. She could think about him and the coffee and everything afterwards, and before having thrown him to the ground without feeling the need to assault him... But if she thought about him and his stupid explanations and justifications for spying- _UGH_

Away from that- now she felt she could handle being around him if he were to pop back into the picture again. She'd calmed down enough the last two days with being so busy with getting ready for today, and actually being able to sleep and eat and be away from him. Now her tolerance for Hawks was back at maximum, and for it, she doubted he'd manage to put her in such a foul mood again as she had been back on that day... Pending he didn't spy or meddle in her business again, the little fucking-

 _-damn it, you're getting worked up again._ _Just focus on right here, right now. You can't fuck up this Internship by being pissy about Feathers._

So instead she focused on the station and the people and only that. Letting her thoughts and feelings and memories of Hawks fade to the back of her mind and be replaced with the here and now once more.

... She supposed that even with the odd person here and there that greeted her and said congrats before heading on their way, _was_ something of a good thing. Because at least they were being friendly and polite and not crowding around and causing a scene and drawing too much attention. They all had places to be, and Pros had been commonplace for a few decades now, so most of the general public had some sense of when it was appropriate to crowd around and divert Heroes from their day to day.

So in short, today wasn't starting off too terribly... It was still early though.

She sighed again, her ears drooping.

Yeah... She might be a little nervous, in all honesty.

... Okay, maybe _a lot_ nervous.

 _Shiiiiiiit_

Her claws dug into the plastic signpost she was sitting on, growling to herself and at what array of knots her stomach felt like it was in.

 _You'll be okay Spirit, just take it slow today, get to know the kid, settle all the basic formal stuff and don't rush... it'll be fine...!_

Of course she'd already told herself all of that, or some variant of it, about a million times the last few days. And it never really did any good.

"Morning." A man hummed as he passed underneath her spot, and Spirit unconsciously dipped her head to the man in recognition of the greeting, though she said absolutely nothing.

 _What if I mess up and act like an idiot? I mean I am the adult here, so I have to seem like I know what I'm doing, right? That's my job? Be prepared and on top of things and know all the answers cause I'm the adult and the Pro Hero and I've been doing this for like... Like two years? I have all the experience?_

 _... Fuck I only have_ ** _two years_** _of experience, and I'm barely old enough to even be considered an adult... How am I supposed to be the responsible one, be on top of everything, and have all the answers? I don't have all the answers!_

 _I am going to crash and burn, aren't I?_

She wilted, her head hanging.

 _... What a terrible idea this was Spirit, way to go... This kid is totally gonna go back to UA thinking I'm Animal Spirit- the most unprepared and bumbling mess of an 'adult' and Pro Hero there ever was..._ _... Guess I'm just gonna have to fake it till I make it, huh? And hopefully fake knowing what I'm doing well enough that nothing goes super terrible, and Eraserhead doesn't find a reason to hunt me down and make good on his threat/warning/whatever..._

 _... Oh great, now I'm imagining being killed by Eraserhead... Lovely..._

Her ears perked subconsciously as the next train rolled into the station and to an abrupt halt. She spared a glance up and at the train, before her eyes left it for a few seconds to take note of what time it was, and then she looked back toward the mass of people filtering onto the station platform.

 _... At least I don't need to worry about being able to pick the kid out of a crowd... Based on the picture I had in the file, spotting him won't be hard... Ah._

Her ears perked, shoving forward and posture straightening as her red eyes locked to one figure among the many who stepped off the now idle train that had come into the station.

A tall young man of a wide, muscular build with peach-colored skin, and his head more the form of a rock, unevenly shaped and pointed at the top, caught her attention among the many. Rightly so, since he was quite a bit taller than many of the other people coming off the train- and even more so a bit of an 'odd one out' given the clearly Hero-centric clothes he had on. His Hero costume, to be exact, was a tight yellow suit, only reaching to his knees and elbows, with a large red marking over his torso and at the ends of his sleeves. On his chest was plastered a symbol resembling an open mouth, and he seemed to wring his hands together in front of him, casting nervous and embarrassed looks toward the people who gave him a sideways glance or otherwise just looked his way.

Ah... She supposed it would be a little odd for a student having to wear their Hero Costume out in public like that, and so casually when just taking the train. But what could she do? She didn't have any Agency building, so he had to come prepared to work and with nowhere to change or anything... She hadn't really thought about it, or how embarrassing and strange it might be on the poor kid. Besides, she was plenty used to wearing her uniform when she was out and about doing whatever- so it was normal.

 _Not for him though... Kids in their first year seldom get out of class wearing their uniforms, huh?_

She sighed slightly at the clear nervousness on the boy's face and woven into his body-language as he took a few more steps away from the platform.

 _Damn... He looks about as nervous as I feel... Oh we're gonna make quite the pair..._

She shook her head at herself and stood up onto all four paws, balancing with ease on the signpost.

 _Please, whatever god or deity or all powerful force or whatever else- let today go well, yeah? No getting mobbed by fans or Press, no dangerous Villains popping out of the woodwork, no massive disasters... Please?_

With that last thought, she shook her fur out and hooked her claws over the edge of the signpost, ready to jump down but pausing when the boy's fluttering gaze moved across the station quickly, and then found her. His steps faltered and his face fell too, surprised and searching as their eyes locked, and Spirit found herself stuck in place for a few seconds too. She quickly shook it off and dipped her head to him, and her tail waved over her back in an arch of distorted reality. Sections of black fellover her shoulders weightlessly as she saw his eyes widen at the sight, his jaw dropping ever so slightly.

Spirit cocked her head a bit, gesturing for him to come her way and purring in amusement at the look of awe she had seen so many times before.

The boy faltered a second more, before taking a jerking step forward in her direction, moving passed the crowd and the people and headed toward her perch. His eyes broke from her the second he started to move, and they stayed glued to the floor all the way till he was a few feet from where she was. When he did come to a halt in front of the sign, he wrung his hands together in front of him a few times and glanced up uncertainly, eyes glittering as she hopped down from the top and landed on the cement floor in front of him with the utmost grace.

"Hey." She hummed as he looked down at her, "It's Koda, right?" She asked lightly, and he nodded stiffly in reply. "Great. Let's head out of the station and we can find a better place to talk for a bit, alright?" She told him, and again she earned a stiff nod, but nothing else. She tilted her head in the direction of the exit and turned, her whiskers twitching as she paused for a single moment, and then started out. Her ears angled backward, catching sound of the boy's footsteps following behind her as the two of them wove through the people and out of the station- earning a few looks here and there but little else. The boy kept closed behind her, almost like he was afraid of being separated, and they both made it outside the station and up the street a bit in sheer silence. Spirit rounded the corner and stepped off the sidewalk into a small square, bringing them both around to a little corner near a copse of trees away from the few people around, and stopped them in the dim shadows underneath.

Spirit turned back toward the boy, her tail tip twitching as she purred a bit in an attempt to break the silence, and the slight bit of tension that came with it. "Ah, welcome to Heiku, by the way- if you've never been to this part of the city before." She spoke up, breaking the quiet and turning in his direction completely. Her body melted into a black-red haze and the relatively small figure of Animal Spirit the cat, got replaced with the taller, and regular form, of the woman. She stood before him with her hands on her hips, dressed in her usual Hero Uniform (she'd gotten it back from being repaired at the Support Office, so she was able to replace Version 1.0 with her preferred 2.0), and plus a small bag strapped to the low of her back and made of the same sort of material her suit was.

She stood there before him, smiling softly as she tilted her head back a bit to keep eye contact with the young boy. The kid was taller than her by an extreme amount as a cat, and even as a human she was more than a few centimeters shorter than him- not that it bothered her, mind you. She was fairly used to being in the company of people taller than her, what with Death Arms being about (the ridiculous amount of) _31_ centimeters above her own head.

The boy went stiff as a board as he stared at her, his hands instinctively coming up and holding together in front of his chin, almost covering his mouth as Spirit kept up that smile that was meant to be friendly and reassuring. Though to be honest, it was a little hard to keep it up as the boy seemed to grow more nervous by the second- seriously, he looked like he was sweating up a storm, and he was trembling for frick's sake.

 _Did I... Do something...?_

"It's good to finally meet you, Koda. I'm excited to work with you, and help out with your training and whatever else, as well as showing you some of the ropes about being a Pro." Spirit went on despite the somewhat anxious(?) reaction she was receiving from the boy, and the anxiety that seemed to get worse the more she said anything. "I figured we could just chat for a little and settle some of the more logistical things before heading out for a bit of Patrol, alright? I'm happy to answer any questions you have, so please don't be afraid of asking me anything. And if you're unsure of something or uncomfortable, please let me know. I want this Internship to be helpful and enjoyable, sound good?" She hummed, and he seemed to flush a little, his eyes glittering. "Oh, and did you have a Hero Name picked out yet? I can call you by that instead of your actual name, for privacy's sake and everything when we're out and about." She added, her confidence waning a little bit more when he went rigid in front of her, almost... _is that awe or fear...?_

His eyes scrunched closed as the trembling reached an all time high as he seemed to shake himself furiously, his hands broke apart and he waved them a bit in air before him, all sheer... Flustered animation...

 _... Ah...?_

"I-I'm so sorry, I'm just so... So honored to meet you, Animal Spirit! A-and I can't believe I'm actually getting to meet you! I never imagined I would get the chance, l-let alone Internship under you! I've just been so nervous about it and I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around being here with you..! B-because I am such a huge fan and this is amazing and terrifying and I really don't want to mess this up, and I want to be better and not be so nervous or anything but I just...!" The words came out quickly, his voice shaky and soft and maybe a bit more high-pitched than she had been expecting.

Spirit blinked, frozen in her spot as the torrent of words seemed to pour forward after probably having been bubbling up. But her eyes were more focused on the constant series of deliberate hand gestures that the young boy was making all through his talking.

 _Is that... He's using Sign Language as he's talking...?_

His face was flushed slightly, eyes still shut and still flustered as hell in his overflow of rambling, and he didn't seem to even notice his hands or their motions- like it was instinct.

"I-I'm sorry, I just get really nervous and I don't really talk a lot but I just wanted to say to thank you for this opportunity..! A-and I promise I'm going to do my best, a-and it's so amazing to meet you, and y-you're an amazing Pro and you're so strong and talented...! I-I've been so impressed with everything you've done, w-with all your fights and your rescues, a-and how you protected Ingenium against S-Stain...! A-and... and I really look up to you as a Hero!" He stammered in embarrassment, and it was Spirit's turn to flush, just a little. The boy jumped though, stiffening and looking a bit mortified as he realized he was rambling- his hands clapped over his mouth and he wilted. "O-oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say so much all at once...! S-sorry...!" He apologized in a frantic and hushed whisper, his eyes shutting tight again from briefly opening when it dawned on him what he had been doing.

Spirit blinked a few times, her mind suddenly sluggish as she tried her best to process what information she had just been given- both spoken and unspoken.

She was used to fans, and praises and whatever. And she was even used to people freaking out a little when they met her, it was all part of being a (fairly) popular Pro. It was a bit weird now, seeing as how she was going to spend so much time with the kid, but even then it wasn't much different than how things were going to be with Okita at the club, so she could handle it. And it wasn't even much of a bother if he was as nervous and shy as he seemed (and mentioned he was), she didn't think that would be hard for her to handle... But...

Spirit swallowed slightly, her fingers and hands twitching as she found her thoughts delving down into a chasm of memory and images and whatever else, she had more or less kept locked up and out of sight for years now. Her hands moved up and hovered over one another, hesitantly almost, before she shook her head at herself and separated them.

 _That's the wrong one... Ah... This...?_

One hand reached forward toward the boy while her other came up to her face, and she tapped him lightly on the shoulder in order to earn his eyes. Once she did she smiled slightly and her other hand pinched at the air near her forehead and then flattened as she made a decisive, gentle chopping motion downward in the air before her. An odd gesture to be sure, to anyone who didn't know what it meant, but the boy looked awed and almost stricken at it. His face turned a deeper shade of red than it already was, as Spirit's hands continued to make a series of motions and gestures in tandem with her words- though a bit jittering, and uncertain, and not near as fluid as his own hands had been but moments before.

"Ah, sorry... I noticed you were signing the whole time while talking." Spirit started slowly, offering up a slightly embarrassed smile. "Are you deaf, if you don't mind my asking...? I can follow most of your signing I think, and sign back... I am a little out of practice though, so you'll have to forgive me if I mess up, and if I'm slow..." Her smile broke for half a second as her hand stalled, and then she quickly reiterated a gesture that was the correct one, and not the last (incorrect) one she had managed. "Ah... as you can tell, I haven't done this in years..." She hummed, and the poor kid looked ready to have a heart attack as he watched her with wide, glistening eyes and an expression so starstruck you would have thought something magical had dropped from the sky.

"Y-you know sign language...?!" Koda stammered quickly, his hands gesturing again of their own accord and Spirit nodded.

"The basics, mostly." She hummed, and her red eyes flashed as she saw the first hint of a smile spread over his features- a drastic break from the flustered animation and uneasiness. But the smile faltered again when it seemed her question registered in his mind, and he quickly shook his head,

"O-oh, uhm, n-no... I'm not deaf... I just... I don't like talking for the most part... so I learned sign language instead... to.. to talk to everyone..." Koda explained quickly, his already soft voice dropping away with every word until he went quiet entirely, his eyes falling on his hands as he tapped his fingers together in front of him in embarrassment. Spirit hummed silently under her breath,

 _Bet ya this is the most the kid has talked to anyone in a long while, huh? And only cause he got so worked up about meeting me..._

Her hands fell on her hips as she nodded at him with a cool smile, watching as Koda tapped his fingers together a few more times, his eyes still averted and cheeks flushed.

 _... ah, he's kinda cute... and so shy and flustered... not what you'd expect from such a big guy, hehe~_

"No worries, you talk as much, or as little as you feel comfortable with." She told him with ease, and he looked up in surprise at the sound of her voice. "If you wanna communicate with me by signing that's fine. I don't think I'll have much of a hard time understanding what you're trying to say, it was the signing back bit that I was gonna muck up with. But I don't need to do that, hmm?" She hummed, and he smiled slightly, shaking his head a bit to her question. "Cool, so talk to me in whatever way you feel comfortable with." He smiled a bit more, nodding to her this time around and signing 'thank you'. She smiled in return, "... Ah, and about that Hero name...?" She added, rounding back to her earlier question as Koda flushed a bit more.

His hands raised as he started spelling out the name in sign and Spirit nodded along as she linked the letters together.

"Anima." She hummed, "Good name. So I'll call you that from now on, kay?" Koda nodded in understanding. "Cool, so I figured we'd take a bit to get to know one another and settle some more logistical things, before we do a little bit of Patrol and get used to Heiku, sound good?" He nodded again with a small, albeit a bit more nervous smile, and Spirit let out a silent breath.

 _Well, this is starting to go better than I expected-_

She broke her thoughts off though, stiffening ever so slightly as her heart skipped a beat. Because she _said_ that, talking logistics and getting to know one another, but-

 _-Aaaah, what... What do I even talk about? Or start with?_

 _Shit I don't know, I'm drawing a fucking blank here...s..shit...!_

 _What do I even ask...?!_

She bit the inside of her cheek, trying her best not to let her smile waver- lest it give away her sudden, quickly getting worse, panic.

 _Think Spirit, think... What would Death Arms ask? What is a good question for this situation? I can't just go straight in and ask personal things, or skip over to lecturing about Hero stuff... Hero stuff... Uuuuhhhhhhhh..._

"...ah, so... Just wondering, what sort of Hero work were you thinking about getting into?" She asked slowly, the words almost coming of their own accord. Koda blinked in question, and Spirit sighed internally.

 _Ah, you didn't start off right, but this is good. This is a fair question, appropriate. Yeah._

"... In terms of what sort of work you'll specialize in." She elaborated, "Were you thinking you'd be more Search and Rescue, or focus more on apprehending Villains?" She murmured, "And on that note, were you planning on staying more inner-city and urban setting, or moving somewhere more rural? Given what I read about your Quirk, it might be easier to move out of the heart of the city a bit..." He nodded in understanding, smiling just slightly as his hands raised and he started to gesture out his reply, Spirit's red eyes watched them carefully.

In (a very loose) translation;

'I was thinking more Search and Rescue. I don't wanna face off against Villains unless I really have to... I'm don't really like fighting or confrontation... And I would prefer somewhere more rural I think, it's quieter, and the animals like it better there.'

Spirit nodded in understanding, "Alright, though it would be worth your while to learn how to fight with your Quirk, despite wanting to remain more as a Rescue Hero." She hummed, and he seemed to tense at the idea. "Despite your plans, you're definitely gonna find yourself in situations against Villains, and where you need to defend yourself and other people. It's just inevitable in the life of a Pro." She explained, and Koda looked down at his hands rather nervously, but he nodded anyway in understanding.

Grant you she probably didn't need to tell him that, in all honesty. After all, he was part of the class at UA that had been involved in that whole USJ mess with all those Villains- he'd likely already had to contend with real enemies even when he hadn't wanted to.

Personally, she had always intended from the very start to be the more 'beat up the bad guys' sort of Pro- and for the most part she was. Of course she also got called in for Search and Rescue and Disaster Relief on top of that, but that was mostly because her Quirk made it easy to go either way. With what she had read about Koda's Quirk from the files she'd been given, she wasn't all that surprised he wanted to veer toward the latter... but there really weren't a lot of Pros nowadays that could get away with doing just one part, and not the other- as she mentioned.

 _So yeah, we'll definitely work on the more offensive side of things... Just so he's prepared._

"We'll switch a bit from doing Patrols and stuff, and take time to do a little combat training, as well as work on your Quirk, alright?" Spirit murmured, and Koda nodded a little, quickly signing 'okay'. She let out a quiet breath, offering up a small smile that was meant to be reassuring. "Don't look so nervous, I won't force you through anything too difficult, and I certainly won't go too hard on you during training." She assured, he smiled a bit in reply, his hands gesturing again.

'Thank you... I'll do my best to keep up with you. You're a great fighter, I just hope I can learn at least some of what you know...'

His gesturing slowed for a moment and his eyes dropped, almost hesitating before he started to continue signing.

'... It really amazed me, seeing how well you fought against the Hero Killer... I didn't really wanna watch the video to start with, but after I did I just couldn't believe how well you did against him... You're such a good Pro Hero, and you're an even better fighter...! There isn't a lot of videos or anything about you facing off against Villains, so seeing it was really something new to be able to watch and see...'

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, her red eyes flashing as she continued to watch and 'listen' to what he had to say- and tried not to let her unease show when the Hero Killer and that _fucking video_ came into the topic.

 _Seriously, screw whatever security guard asshole posted that on the internet_

Koda seemed hesitant to keep going though, and she hoped it was because of his own nervousness, and not because her face had changed. He glanced up slowly, his eyes almost searching and Spirit blinked in surprise to find _concern_ suddenly flood his features.

'... I hope I'm not out of line asking, but... Are you okay, Animal Spirit? After fighting Stain...?' He signed slowly, his suddenly sluggish hands betraying what uncertainty he felt for asking the question at all. And Spirit paused, her expression falling flat and a small section of silence stretching between them.

People had asked that question, several times over the last week... And it had only been _one week ago_ that she went head to head with the Hero Killer.

It felt something like a lifetime ago now, between being sick as hell for a few days after, and then contending with everything else. The Internship, the call from the Director, dealing with Hawks and his spying... This whole week had went by in such a blur, she had honestly started to forget about the whole thing... Right up until Stain invaded her dreams, the fight, the feel of blood, the fear- and then the pain.

She wasn't healed and she knew it. Of course not, it would take more than one week to heal all the way from being stabbed and cut and whatever else. And as it was, she hadn't really taken much time to just rest and relax. She still felt her injuries even now, should she move or bend the wrong way- or bump into something along her side. And though the pain has faded over the last week, it was still _painful_... Sometimes even throbbing, and for quite awhile when she agitated the wound on accident. She'd several times the last few days struggled to keep her pain quiet as she worked around the bar. After all, no one there could know about her injuries, our of risk they put two and two together, and peg her as Animal Spirit.

But to have Koda asking her that question that Hawks, Death Arms, Cementoss, All Might and so many others had asked of her lately- sort of caught her off guard, not that that made any sense.

 _I mean, it is a pretty regular thing you ask when someone gets hurt, right? I just... I don't know, maybe because I've been so busy... And kinda trying to ignore the whole thing and move on..._

Her thoughts broke off when she realized she had paused a bit too long there, and she quickly offered up a faint smile and a nod to the young boy. "I'm okay." she replied softly, "I appreciate the concern, but don't worry about me, okay? I'm healing up just fine." she murmured, and she noticed the small bit of apprehension that flooded his face when she said 'healing' instead of 'healed'. But thankfully he did as she asked, and didn't linger on it. His hands moved up again as he signed his reply,

'I am very glad to hear you're doing okay.'

 _... Am I really though? I mean, I have sort of just ignored it-_

 _-stop, Spirit. Not now._

Spirit clapped her hands together in front of her softly and smiled a little wider, "Alright, now I actually have a few questions about your Quirk and how it works, okay? The file I read on you had a pretty general description, but I'm interested in a few more in depth things. And it'll help to know the limits and specifics for when we Patrol and do training stuff." Koda nodded, looking nervous again as he glanced to the ground.

'A-alright... I'll do my best to explain things..' He signed quickly, she nodded.

"Thank you." She hummed, "So, first thing- what is the range you have? Your Quirk being voice-based, I figure you actually have to be in earshot of the animals you're talking to, hmm?" He nodded,

'The animals have to be able to hear me when I ask them to do things, so if it's really loud or noisy and they can't hear my voice, my Quirk doesn't work.' He signed, Spirit nodded in understanding.

 _But since animals generally have better hearing than humans, the range of his Quirk is larger than if he were trying to talk to another human being... Cool._

"Alright, and is there a limit on what sort of animals you can talk to?" She asked next, "Do certain types of animals listen better over others, for example?" He paused, before shaking his head a little.

'No, as long as they can hear me, and don't get scared off or anything, I've never had any trouble between different kinds of animals.' He explained, pausing again as he seemed to think about something, before continuing on. '... They just have to be a real animal... Not just animal-like... They are all fine if they're actual animals. But of course I haven't talked with all the different animals that exist in the world though, just ones around here and in the city... So like mice and rats, birds and rabbits, squirrels and cats and dogs... And... And bugs...'

His signing got a little choppy, and almost nervous at the end there, and Spirit blinked at it, her head tilting a bit. The kid didn't linger too long on it though, and instead of pressing it, Spirit let it go too.

 _So his Quirk wouldn't work on things that take on animal appearance. They actually have to be real animals... Does make me wonder though, if hearing him ask me to do stuff when I'm Shifted would have any sort of affect...?_

Again, not important right now, and not something to ask the poor kid to test out on a whim. It would probably make him a little uncomfortable.

Spirit nodded in acknowledgment of the information, her arms crossing over her chest as she cocked her hip a bit. "Alright... Do you have a limit on how many animals you can control at once?" Was her next question, and he paused.

'... I don't know, I've never tried to control a really large group before, usually just around two dozen birds maybe... So I might, but I haven't found it yet.' He explained, his shoulders shrugging a tiny bit.

"Gotcha, so maybe we'll try and test that out a bit in the next few days." Spirit hummed, "For today though, I figured we'll just make some rounds around Heiku, get you a little more familiar with the layout and everything, and get started with Patrol and what that means, and usually involves. Sound alright?"

'Yes ma'am.' He signed, and Spirit felt her posture wilt the tiniest bit.

 _All these kids keep insisting on calling me ma'am, huh...? And I'm not even much older than they are..._

She smiled a little and shook her head, "Ah, you don't have to call me ma'am." She hummed quickly, "That's like super formal, you can just call me Animal Spirit, or even Spirit if you want. Just not ma'am... heh, you're gonna make me feel old." She chuckled softly, and he looked a little surprised for a moment, before a smile broke across his face at the comment.

'Alright, Animal Spirit, I understand.' He signed, she smirked.

 _Now this is going very well, if I do say something myself~_

"Great, let's get started, hmm?"

 **.:+:.**

"... so for the most part, Patrol is really just about keeping an eye out as you move around your designated part of the city... or in my case, the city as a whole in itself." Spirit murmured with a glance to her left and toward the young UA student following closely at her side- but always with a bit of distance between the two of them, as if he was afraid of being too close... But he still seemed intent on not lagging, almost like he was afraid of being left behind at the same time.

 _Such a nervous kid... Though I can't really complain, this whole thing has been going better than I expected so far._

She tilted her head to the side in a silent gesture of the street and the buildings around them. They were headed up the sidewalk side by side, walking slowly and calmly and ignoring and unperturbed by the glances and looks they got from the passerby's.

Well, _Spirit_ was unperturbed. Koda seemed a little self-conscious of the stares, honestly, but he seemed to also be doing his best not to let it show.

 _He'll get used to it... Eventually._

 _... Aaaaahh... I hope_

The looky-loos and murmurs that sprung up on all sides were her fault, of course. Not only was she prone to earning attention just by being a Pro- she was still a hot topic with the Stain thing, in some ways- and she was even more in the lime light because of the Rankings. But then add all that on top of seeing her out and about and in the company of such a young kid, and one wearing a Hero costume?

'Oh my god, is Animal Spirit hosting an Intern?'

'No way!'

'He's so lucky!'

... And other such comments being thrown around as they continued on Patrol. Apparently it was a pretty common surprise for even the general public to see her doing the Internship thing.

 _But anyway, back to what I was saying-_

"Since I've pretty much got the whole of Heiku I'm looking after, I try to slowly make a loop of the city between two or three days." Spirit explained, "That way I'm covering the whole distance, but not all at once. You probably won't have to worry about that though. Once you sign up with an Agency, you'll be assigned a certain sector of the city or ward, not the whole thing. Agency's don't usually like to leave one Pro with too much ground to cover, so they split it up between their members... since I'm not signed on with an Agency, I got to pick where and when I do the whole Hero Stuff, but that'll be less your choice than theirs, when you join one." Koda nodded in understanding. "... Mmm... I'm sorry I can't really give you much of a rundown on how Agency's work other than all that, though. It's information you'd benefit from knowing, but I'm afraid I'm not gonna be much help in that department..." Spirit added slowly, almost as an afterthought. Koda looked at her in surprise when the small hints of nervousness appeared in the woman when she said the words.

He shook his head a little, his hands raising; 'It's not a worry, Animal Spirit.' he told her (or rather, signed to her...), and she nodded a little, though honestly she still felt a little lacking.

"... Alright... So anyway, we'll start on this side of the city and slowly make our way toward the center, and the border with Hosu the next few days." Spirit explained, "And we'll do our best to make a sort of loop, and end back around on the other side of Heiku when we're Patrolling. And for training and stuff, I figured we'd stick to Bakanei Park, its really big and there's lots of open space and not that many people to run into or get stared at." She hummed, he smiled a little and nodded. "So, any questions so far?" His hands started up again as Spirit watched the gestures carefully, their walk down the sidewalk not slowing hardly at all.

'I do have a question, just out of curiosity, how busy are you when you are out on Patrol?' He asked, and Spirit blinked at the question. 'There isn't usually a lot of news coverage about your Patrols, unless something really big happens. And usually most things that do seem to happen are done and over with before anyone is there to really record it. There isn't much about other Hero's Patrols either, so it seems like not a lot actually happens... which I know isn't right, things go wrong all the time, right?' He explained, and Spirit nodded along as she put the gestures and signs together.

"Well it really depends on where you are." She murmured, "Some cities have very little 'traffic' in terms of accidents, Villains, and other things Pros would get involved in. And some are really, really busy, and there is actually something going on at all seconds of the day." She murmured, "Generally more densely populated parts of cities have a lot of stuff going on, but it usually ranges from car accidents to minor scuffles and small-time theft and whatnot. In terms of serious Villains, those aren't all that common- but the chances go up when you get into a place with a high population density and a lot of stores, banks... you get the gist." She brushed a bit of her hair back from her face, glancing ahead and away from the younger boy for a moment. "For me, and being in a fairly populated place like Heiku, I deal with a lot of accidents and thefts, and sometimes the occasional fight that breaks out for no reason, and all I have to do is pull some people apart to settle it. And Heiku has a lot of people, but we're not as business oriented as Kiyashi Ward or Hosu, so generally there isn't a lot of high-profile robberies, or even that many Villains that reach above D-Rank." She paused a moment and glanced back to him, "Ah, you know about the Villain Ranking system, yeah?"

'Yes, generally speaking.' He replied, and she nodded.

"Right, so all in all, Patrol can be pretty consistently busy for you, if you live in a more urban area. But for the most part, really flashy stuff happening is pretty uncommon." Spirit murmured, "I've had days where I'm constantly going between one little thing to the next, and other days where I'm just walking around for several hours without anything happening that needed my help or attention."

'How do you know when you need to help?' He asked next, and she tilted her head a bit at the question. Upon seeing that he faltered, before his hands moved quickly as he tried to explain what he meant, '- In terms of letting the police handle something instead of stepping in yourself. How do you know when it's something a Pro should be helping with, or if it's better to let the police handle it instead? Or how you decide if you should let another Pro handle something on their own, rather than jumping in?' Spirit paused, her red eyes flashing a little, before she let out a small breath and smiled a bit in uncertaintly.

"Ah... well, those are good questions." She hummed, her hand moving to rub the back of her neck a few times. "... though honestly, there really isn't a clear cut answer to any of them. The deciding bit is up to you, and what you know and think might be better for whatever situation you're looking at." She bit the inside of her cheek, quiet for a few seconds as she seemed to mull things over in her head.

And really, she didn't actually have a no-shit answer. Because when she thought about it, thinking back on situations where she had had to make those calls herself? On whether or not she jumped in or stayed back, or ran to do something or decided to just let the cops handle it?

When she thought about all of those, the reason for her decision wasn't clear. There was no mental checklist she had thought up and went through, counting up how many tallies there were and then using that score to decide go or no.

 _To be honest... I sort of just go on gut-feeling..._

But how the hell was she supposed to make that an okay answer?

She glanced back toward Koda (or maybe she should actually be calling him Anima, like she said she would...) slowly. "Sorry, this is gonna sound like a lame answer- but you sort of just know." She murmured, and he blinked. "It's sort of a mix of guessing how well someone else can handle that situation- police, Pro, whatever- and how well they can't. You ask yourself 'if I jump in here, am I gonna make things better, or worse? Or maybe just more difficult?'... and thinking about that is all well and good and logical, but in the end you just have to go with your instincts." She murmured, smiling a little in apology. "I know that doesn't really help, but I suppose as a basic rule- if the situation looks like it can logically be solved by the police, or someone else just fine without you there- leave them to it. Being helpful and having a good relationship with other people is nice, but sometimes trying to be helpful just isn't helpful at all." She hooked her hands behind her back, bumping her bag a bit without meaning to, but not lingering on it. "It's pretty much gonna have to be up to you, and your better judgment. It'll get easier to be able to make those decisions the longer you work as a Pro, but sometimes it's still hard to choose, that's just how it is."

Koda nodded a bit, his eyes falling away from her and toward the road as they continued to walk, and silence settled in once she finished her piece. She watched the boy from the corner of her eye and how pensive he was, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

 _I probably didn't help at all... well damn._

"... I'm sure you'll do just fine, when the time comes." Spirit told him softly, earning a surprised blink. "It just takes some practice, and I'm sure you'll pick it up pretty quick. So try not to worry too much about it, alright?" He held her eyes for a few seconds, almost unsure of what to do or think of what she said, before he nodded his head.

'Thank you.'

"You're out and about earlier than usual today." A woman, holding on to a small child in her arms, hummed as she passed Animal Spirit and Koda by. Her eyes caught Spirit's as she smiled to the Pro, after briefly looking Koda over. "I hope both of you have a good day, and Patrol goes well for you." She murmured as they drew shoulder level with one another. Spirit smiled and dipped her head toward the woman, murmuring a small 'thank you', but otherwise said nothing as they each continued on their ways.

Spirit's red eyes trailed sideways and toward the small line of cars running passed on the street to her left, stoplights turning and people slowing up, halting, then going again in a constant drone. But it was normal... it was quiet.

 _Maybe it'll stay that way... a little boring for a first day maybe, but I think this kid wouldn't really mind..._

A small tap on her shoulder brought her attention back around and she glanced toward Koda, his hand moving back after gaining her attention. "Hmm? What's up?" She asked,

'I just forgot to say congratulations earlier, about the Rankings.' He signed and she blinked, he smiled. 'You deserve it, Animal Spirit, you've been doing so well in everything that's happened lately.' He told her brightly, and she smiled a bit.

"... thank you." She hummed, and he nodded.

"... is that kid signing to Animal Spirit...?"

"Huh, I think so... man, I didn't know Animal Spirit knew sign language...!"

"... she's so cool...!"

"That kid is so lucky to be hanging out with her...!"

Those array of comments were owed to a small group of younger boys walking along the sidewalk in the opposite direction that Spirit and Koda were headed. Koda and Spirit caught the comments easily enough, and Koda's eyes quickly averted to the ground in embarrassment, while Spirit cast a small, imperceptible side-glance toward the band.

 _Shouldn't they be in school or something?_

She shrugged it off and focused instead on further up the street and toward a small square and intersection they were approaching. They'd be turning up there onto a different street, though they had a few minutes before getting there. She glanced back toward Koda,

"Anima." She hummed his Hero Name, and he jumped a little in surprise, blinking at her in question, "Just out of curiosity, how much Hero Training have you guys done so far?" She asked, "I realize school started not that long ago, and you hit a bit of a snag with the whole USJ thing... but I figure you've had at least a few lessons on protocol and stuff like that, yeah?"

'We've run a few training exercises focusing on combat and team working, and we did a Quirk Apprehension test at the start of the year to feel out how our Quirks work with different things.' He replied, his hands moving in those same fluid, precise motions. 'We were supposed to do some hands on Rescue Training at the USJ, but that never really happened... but we have had class and reviewed protocol in different situations, disasters and stuff like that. I know a lot of the basic information, but we haven't really done all that much physical work...'

 _... UA's a little slow this year, huh...? Aren't they supposed to be the premiere Hero school...?_

She shook the thought off and nodded to the young boy, "Alright." She murmured, "That's good for me to know, and keep in mind... so in your own words, how good would you say you are in high-pressure situations? I realize you've not had much hands on experience, but in a general sense?" He paused a few seconds, like he had to think about the answer.

'... I'm okay, I think." He replied slowly, 'I mean, when the Villains showed up at the USJ and we all got split up, I did my best to stay calm and safe. I was with someone else though, so I wasn't all by myself... but if I'm with you, Animal Spirit, I think I can stay focused.' He told her, his expression becoming a bit more steady at the end and she smiled.

"Cool." She hummed, "I don't anticipate being in the middle of something really off the rails, but just in case; you'll need to do your best to follow my directions, okay? And don't go rushing into something dangerous alone. If you can, try and stay out of the middle of the fire and stick with me so we don't get split up on accident. We'll try and limit ourselves to crowd control and assistance, alright? And if there's any Villains, we'll leave it to other Pros instead of getting involved ourselves."

'I understand.' He replied, looking a slight bit relieved that she didn't plan to have them in anything too crazy.

Spirit drew to a small stop at the end of the street, and both she and Koda waited on the sidewalk for the stoplight to change and the pedestrian walkway to flash green. Around them a small group of other (random, day to day) people formed a small group, waiting for the crossing and casting small, silent glances at the Pro and the Intern.

Koda looked down at Animal Spirit quietly as they waited there, watching carefully as her eyes scanned the street, buildings, cars, people and everywhere in between in constant rhythm. She'd been doing that the whole time they were walking, just generally keeping an eye on their surroundings, and he'd been trying to do the same without accidentally catching someone's eyes. It surprised him though, how attentive she seemed to be on the environment even between watching him sign, ask questions, and just generally chat between them... he wasn't really sure how she could manage her attention so well.

Practice, maybe...? She was a top Pro Hero though, so maybe it was just talent?

His hands wrung together in front of him a bit, nervousness constantly biting at his heels, and slowly getting worse the longer the pause for the crosswalk grew, and the more people that trickled to a stop around them. His attention diverted to the sound of soft cooing and the flap of wings, his eyes finding three pigeons alight on the top of the stoplight near them, and peering down at the crowd with beady black eyes. He smiled a little, one hand moving up in a small wave toward the animals, just out of habit.

Spirit cast Koda a sideways glance when he moved his hand in a wave, and she smiled slightly in amusement at the gesture.

 _... ah damn, he's such a cute dude for being such a big guy..._

Her eyes flicked up toward the small trio of birds he was waving to, and she felt a small twinge in her stomach- an urge, and her mouth watered despite herself.

 _... and there goes my stupid animal thoughts... I'm not hunting birds... I'm not hunting birds... no, damn it..._

 _Speaking of though... did I eat this morning...? Ah... probably not, I was so focused on getting to the station..._

Her eyes flicked from the birds and toward the light on the street turning red, and she glanced to the crosswalk sign briefly in anticipation for the walk sign to pop up. And just out of ingrained habit, she glanced up the street, watching the approaching cars carefully.

 _Oh you have to be kidding me-_

She grimaced, her eyes flashing as she took a quick step forward and her hand raised, Koda beside her looked suddenly nervous.

Spirit's hand fell steadily on the shoulder of a man at the head of the small group they stood in, his head bent and looking at his phone as he started to take an unconscious step forward after having briefly seen the crosswalk sign turn green. He jerked back a bit, halted in place as Spirit pushed ahead to the front of the small crowd and waved her hand back in a gesture for everyone to stop.

"Wait a minute." She ordered quickly, her voice steady and clear as the citizens blinked at her in a mixture of question, surprise, and realization.

"Huh?"

"What..?"

She didn't pause very long on them though, her eyes had moved to the opposite side of the street and to the crowd of people waiting to cross there- and some of them already in the crosswalk. She grumbled, her hand leaving the man's shoulder and ready to call across the street, and even move there- but she never got that far.

Her red eyes widened in surprise to see three pigeons suddenly swoop down from midair, halting in the path of a young woman at the head of the group trying to cross, and ultimately stopping her in her tracks. She jumped back a little from the birds, yelping in surprise and trying to shoo them off. But they kept up on their pestering and she stayed still where she was, her hands waving while everyone else behind her slowed up at the sudden commotion.

Spirit paused, the sound of flapping wings lost on her ears at the drone and rumble of a fast approaching car. The car came from up the street they meant to be crossing, and barreled straight through the redlight, and subsequently, straight through the space of the crosswalk- the horn beeping quite obnoxiously all the way through. The woman being hampered by pigeons jumped back in surprise, stricken as the car zoomed passed where she was standing not four feet away from, the pigeons a barrier between herself and the metal vehicle. The people behind her let out a ripple of gasps and mutters- a common theme in the group Animal Spirit stood apart of on her side of the street.

"Did you see that?"

"That idiot totally ran the light!"

"... I didn't even realize..."

"... thanks for the warning, Animal Spirit."

"What a fool!"

"Geez, if that woman had kept walking she'd have probably gotten hit..."

"What's with the birds though..?"

Said birds gave up on their flapping and took off in air again, circling back toward the side of the street she was on, and landing graciously on Koda's shoulders, unperturbed by him or anyone around them. Spirit turned, her red eyes glittering as Koda mumbled a few quiet words to the pigeons and gently ran a finger over one of their heads, focused on the birds and not on the looks and stares he was getting. Spirit smirked, her hands falling on her hips as she watched him a few seconds longer, and he finally glanced toward her slowly.

"Good reflexes, Anima." She hummed brightly. "You beat me to the punch on warning the other side of the street. I didn't even realize you'd asked the birds to head over and stop that woman from heading any further." She tilted her head toward the still approaching group from the opposite side of the street, some of their own group crossing quickly, but most of them paused as they heard Animal Spirit addressing the tall young boy. "Good job, that was a great call." She told him with ease, and he blushed at the praise, looking both flustered, and a little pleased.

"Ah, you told the pigeons what to do, huh?"

"That was a good call, that lady would be flat as a pancake if you hadn't decided to do that."

"Good job, kid!"

"Quick thinking."

"Especially on your first day, hehe."

"You look like you got yourself a pretty good Intern, huh Animal Spirit?"

There was a wash of small murmurs and praises that the people around them tossed out, by now understanding what had happened and how the young boy had stepped in to act just as quickly as Animal Spirit had. And even more- he did it without having been asked to, and he made a good call on top of it.

Koda turned bright red under the new praises and comments, almost steaming from the head as he did his best to nod and smile in reply to what the people were saying. Many of them smiled in amusement, while others looked a little sympathetic for how flustered the boy was. The murmuring continued on even as everyone began to move again, crossing the street and moving in and out of other people as they headed on their ways.

"You said 'Anima', right?"

"Well, you're sure to get pretty good being around Animal Spirit. I'll be keeping an eye out for your name in the future~"

"Good luck with the Internship, young man!"

"And keep up the good work, both of you!"

Spirit let them stand there awhile as the crowd thinned out again and the people dispersed, still smiling as Koda did his best to recompose himself, and the pigeons cooed at him.

"Heh, you're a natural already." She chuckled, and he flushed a little more, looking at her nervously. "I know you were a little worried about making calls on whether or not to step in for things- I was gonna try and warn that woman from walking, or head across the street if I had to- but you were on top of it, and you helped out." She hummed, "It's your first day and you already helped avert a potential accident." He held his cheeks in his hands, still red-faced and all flustered, but his lips twitched in a small smile anyway, nodding.

"... T.. thank you..." He whispered breathlessly, one of the pigeon's on his shoulder nudged his hand a little.

"Yep." She said, he pulled his hands away from his face and started signing again.

'... I was actually paying attention to the street because I saw you doing it, and I saw the car, and thought the people on the other side might not have seen it coming...' He explained, '... the driver shouldn't have run the light, but I'm glad nobody got hurt...'

"Mhmm." Spirit hummed, "Making sure everyone is safe should be your top priority. You do that first, and do your best to handle the rest afterward." He nodded, his eyes finding hers, though the words rang familiar to the ones she had said to the news that day she fought Stain. "And don't worry about the driver, this intersection has traffic cameras, so they've definitely got their photo snagged. The police will catch up with whoever it was." She added, and he nodded again. "Good job on the paying attention part though, even if you were just looking where I was. It's a good idea to try and stay alert to everything you can when you're Patrolling- so hopefully we can catch stuff like that and act before something goes wrong."

'I understand.' He signed, nodding firmly in acknowledgment of the words.

 _You know what? I actually feel sort of like a capable, sort-of-teacher-material, adult right now._

"Good." She smiled coolly, her eyes lingering on the pigeons still resting so at ease on the boys shoulders.

There is was again, that tingle, that suddenly urge to... _Pounce. Chase. Bite. Eat-_

 _\- I hope that doesn't become a problem._

 _Get ahold of yourself, Spirit._

"Now let's keep going, yeah?"

 **.:+:.**

 _Thank you- whatever the hell you are, or call yourself- thank you for a perfectly normal, slow, easy first day. With no Villains, no natural disasters, and just small, not at all dangerous stuff... I know you screwed me over the last time I wanted something easy, but seriously- thanks._

Spirit clapped her hands together in front of her softly, and only twice, before her hands fell again and she gave up on her brief spell of appreciation. Beside her, Koda glanced toward the Pro curiously at the sudden gesture, but quiet kid he was, he didn't ask.

A quick glance at a billboard overhead gave her the time it was; 1:06 in the afternoon.

So yeah, technically they had another 4ish hours left for today- but still.

Apart from that little issue with the redlight runner early on, they had mostly been invested on just walking around and keeping an eye out. They'd paused for a few things, helping someone pick up the bags they dropped, provided a little crowd control as another Pro handled a few rebellious young teens causing havoc on a street, and settling what small little dispute emerged among two men who had clearly been drinking a little too much (ugh... drunk people, a common theme for the next week to be sure...)

None of which were hard or overly dangerous, and Koda seemed to handle himself well with what Spirit has instructed him to do so far. And as the hours passed, she thought maybe he'd grown a little less uneasy... Just a little. (Though grant you, the drunk guys gave him pause, and he'd stayed back while Spirit handled them.)

And now, she felt surprisingly less like a nervous wreck about this whole thing, than she had anticipated. She supposed that comment she'd made about being 'the most unprepared Pro Hero' hadn't really come true... _Kudos to me, I guess. I feel sort of like a responsible, capable adult. Yay._

 _... Now you just gotta keep that up for the next four hours-_

Spirit's feet drew up as they came upon a street lined with little shops and food stalls, and filled with no small amount of people and hustle and bustle... unsurprisingly, since it was more or less lunch hour, but slowly winding down from the height. They paused for a moment at the edge of the opening to the street, and Spirit cast a small glance up the street running passed it, before glancing toward the one ahead again, and then finally at Koda.

"Anima."She hummed lightly, calling the boy's attention after he had been glancing over the people ahead. "You wanna take a break for awhile and grab some lunch? My treat." She asked with a small smile, and the boy's eyes widened at the offer, looking slightly flustered again. He didn't answer right away, in fact it looked like he wasn't sure how to process the offer at all, before he jumped and nodded a few times, stiffly and still unsure. Spirit just smiled a little more and tilted her head, "Alright, let's go then. You can pick whatever looks good, and we can go eat over at that little open space over there, kay?" She told him, her head tilting next in the direction of a small collection of tables and trees, where other people were busy eating or otherwise chatting. He nodded a little again and she started forward, and Koda kept close as they headed in, and Spirit payed little to no attention to the looks they earned. She just smiled and nodded, but kept going, all the while those blood-red eyes of hers kept on the (taller) boy walking at her shoulder and eyeing the food stands cautiously.

They'd only headed a little bit into the street itself, before Koda slowly turned Spirit's way and started to create the (quickly becoming familiar) gestures with his hands, and tilted his head toward a small yakisoba stand a little to their left. 'Do you mind if we get food here?' The gesturing of his hands asked, and Spirit smiled coolly.

"Of course." She hummed, stepping around him and heading toward the stand. Koda followed quickly and nervously whispered a hushed order to the man behind the counter, and Spirit ordered her own- whilst also accepting a congratulations from the man for her jump up in the Rankings. She pulled her wallet from her bag and handed the money for the food off, before replacing it.

"You're Interning this year then, huh?" The man asked in between the stirring of the noodles, and casting a look at Koda. Spirit nodded, "You one of those UA kids?" He asked of the younger, and Koda nodded quickly, but averted his eyes. He cast a look at Spirit again, "So, first day been going well then?" He asked, keeping up with his plan of chit-chat. Spirit didn't usually care to just chat, but she was polite and friendly when the time called for it... And hell, the man was making their food, so she might as well.

"So far, so good." She replied with ease, "Patrol's been pretty calm, and what few things we've helped out with, everything's gone smoothly." She explained, the man smiled with an understanding nod. "Anima's been good help, and he's got good instincts. I'm sure the rest of the week will be just as good as today has been." She hummed, and she saw the poor boy flush a little at her words, but she meant them... or at least, the first bit. That last bit, about the rest of the week going well, was more a hope than a certainty.

"Ah, that is very good to hear." The man chuckled, the noodles sizzling as he stirred them and started to separate them a bit. He scooped them up into two different containers and closed them, handing them to both Koda and Spirit in tandem as he nodded at them. "Good luck with the rest of the Internship, and have a good day." He told them, and Spirit murmured a small thanks while Koda did the same, very quietly. They turned and started back off the way they came, heading back to where Spirit had gestured earlier, and settling down at a table underneath a tree.

Koda set his food down and clapped his hands together in front of him, dipping his head to her with a shy smile. "Thank you, Animal Spirit." He said softly, and she nodded.

"You're welcome." She replied with ease, and silence settled again as they both started into their food. And honestly that was fine, and something that had been sort of normal, so far. He was just a quiet person, and she didn't mind. She knew he was being attentive and he did ask questions when he needed. Otherwise?

Silence was sort of content between them.

Spirit invested most of her attention on her food, while leaving a little bit of it on their surroundings. She caught a small glance of a group of people pausing on the sidewalk a bit of a ways away, and clearly catching sight of her and the young boy sitting there, but they and everyone else had better sense (and manners) not to bother.

She was in the midst of twisting a few noodles around her chopsticks when she got diverted by something small landing on the table near to where Koda was sitting. She glanced up quietly, blinking a few times at the small blue bird that landed there, and how Koda smiled at the small creature immediately. His eating paused for a moment as he gently drew a finger down the birds neck and stroked it, and the bird was oh-so utterly comfortable with the contact from the boy who, was quite frankly, about twenty times its size.

Over the course of the day Spirit had noticed this; birds, squirrels, mice, and even a cat, just casually approaching the young boy, and even taking residence on his shoulders and hands. Koda wasn't at all bothered by it, and in fact seemed to welcome the contact, and every time he did so he was so, so _gentle_... it was sort of odd to see someone so huge and bulky have such a soft touch with creatures so tiny and fragile compared to himself. Not that it wasn't nice to see, it was just surprising... but honestly she sort of liked it. Even if his gentle and quiet demeanor was a bit unusual in the realm of Pro Heroes.

He stroked the bird a few more times, nodding to it's chirping and eventually returning to his food. The bird stayed, and Spirit paused a little longer just watching, her eyes moving between the boy and the bird and a soft smile gracing her lips.

 _... oh geez, this kid is really cute... I wasn't expecting that..._

Her eyes settled on the bird as it chirped softly, it's feathers ruffling as it adjusted, and Spirit felt her mouth start to water the longer she watched it bounce here and there on the edge of the table.

 _Fucking stop! We are not eating that damn thing- FUCK!_

She growled under her breath and quickly shoved her noodles into her mouth, diverting her attention from the bird entirely and cursing herself in her head over and over.

 _All of those stupid, bird-eating, carnivorous little assholes- You. Need. To. Stop._

 _I am not eating any of these damn birds!_

She grumbled a bit though, because the urge still lingered in the pits of her stomach and she wilted, exasperation hitting her full on.

 _... I don't wanna be tempted to eat whatever little animals this kid attracts or calls to him... oi... it's not usually this bad, but shit... first the pigeons, now this thing..._

She kept up with focusing on the yakisoba and not the bird, all the way until the former was gone, and by that time the bird (thankfully) fluttered off. She gathered her plate up neatly and set it to the side, settling her elbows on the table and linking her hands together as she settled her chin into them a bit. Her eyes dropped closed as she waited patiently for Koda to finish his meal, and this time her attention wandered toward everything around them. Every sound and every smell, every bit of feet on the ground and the hum of voices all around, the rumble of cars and the small whistle of the breeze... it was in some ways peaceful, and sure to be huge contrast to how her night (and early morning) at the Yowai Hikari Club would be later on. Honestly she was dreading it... but she needed the money, so she couldn't complain too much.

 _... just got to soldier through, I guess..._

 _"... Animal Spirit and Hawks seem to be spending an awful lot of time together!"_

Spirit cracked an eye open, her gaze landing on a small digital sign situated on the corner of the street, and currently broadcasting a number of things. But in particular, a segment of a popular gossip newscast. She was far enough away she couldn't see the actual image, but the sound came through enough, and she sighed silently.

 _"... With this new photo circulating, it seems to everyone that our Ebony and Winged Heroes have upped their relationship a bit! Now, we don't know all the details of course, but there is no denying that Animal Spirit and Hawks seem to be casually sharing coffee here! Is it a coffee date? Or maybe just a little bit of time with a colleague? Maybe the fanning of the flames for some serious romantic action? Who's to say? But we're certainly interested to know more- and just how close Animal Spirit and Hawks seem to have gotten these last two weeks!"_

 _Romantic action, seriously...? Fucking hell... nobody would be saying that if they'd seen me throw his feathery ass to the ground just a few hours earlier..._

... though maybe if they had, and had seen how she pinned him, and straddled him- maybe they would have started those stupid 'romantic' rumors anyway. The media always blew things way out of proportion, and painted things not at all like how they actually are.

 _... I'm sure Feathers has been enjoying all that coffee date nonsense too... he would, the cheeky little git._

"... uhm, Spirit-Sensei...?"

Spirit stiffened, her eyes snapping open wide in surprise and glancing quickly toward the owner of that quiet voice. Her hands fell away from her face a bit and she blinked, her heart having sped up unconsciously and her mind whirling a bit- _I'm sorry, what did he just call me...?_

"... hmm..?" The hum was all she managed though as he tapped his fingers together in front of him, his eating done and over with, and failing to meet her eyes for a few moments.

"... I... uh... I was just... wondering..." He started, his voice breaking off and on as he seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say- pause- and then shake his head at himself as if he thought better of it... whatever it was. "... uhm... just... I was wondering... when you first Interned in school... did... did anything bad ever happen...?" He asked softly after a second, and Spirit blinked.

 _Bad...?_

"... l... like in terms of... Villains... or... a really big... accident...?" He went on, his voice dropping away entirely and Spirit wilted a bit.

 _He's still worried about that, huh? He's so nervous... I guess I can't have expected any different, this is new for him, and he is super young still..._

Spirit looked away for a minute though, her hands still folded together and one finger moving to tap her knuckle almost pensively. Her thoughts trailed away for a minute, back to it. Back then, with her own Internship and who she Interned under... and what happened in the midst of it.

Her stomach knotted a little uncomfortably and she shook her head at herself, and especially at what small pang of wistfulness flooded her core.

"No, nothing like that ever happened." She told him, and he glanced up. "Listen, Anima... I understand this is new for you, and you've never been out in the field before... or even that you've had all that much experience. We are going to do our best to stay away from anything like that- and if things don't really go according to plan, I will make sure you are safe." She told him firmly, and his eyes glinted a bit. "You're my Intern, so you're my responsibility, and you being comfortable and out of harms way is on the top of my list for all of this. I will make sure you are safe and I will protect you if things come to that, I promise."

His mouth fell open a bit, almost a little awed as he just looked at her, and how steady she was, how utterly calm. When she said 'I promise', the words felt almost heavy, important even... and he hadn't thought he'd hear her say anything like that to him.

In a world of Pro Heroes and a culture steeped in celebrating those Heroes, and even obsessing over them in all their work and their fame and popularity... it was commonplace for everyone to look up to them. Everyone saw Pro Heroes and they respected them, believed and trusted in them. And they even believed that what shinning, selfless personalities they saw in the news and media were the truth.

All Pros seemed kind and brave and valiant- and many were that, of course- but some of them were just an act, or they were hiding the true depths of their personalities from the world. Sometimes that bright and kind Hero on the tv was shrewd, and utterly reproachable in person. Sometimes Pro Heroes let their fame get to their heads and grew arrogant, even rude... and hope as you might, sometimes the Hero you saw through a screen was nothing like the person standing before you.

And Animal Spirit?

She had little of herself in the news or the tv or anything, and what little people saw of her were always fleeting moments. She was more reserved as a Hero than some, but she seemed nice enough with her fans... She'd never snapped at anyone or been publicly rude, at any rate. So even with what little anyone really knew about Animal Spirit, it was a general consensus that she was, at least, something of a decent person. He'd figured that, and that she might be a little reserved, and that maybe she would be a bit to the point when they met.

When he saw her response to the press after the Stain Incident, and about her choice to let him go in lieu of helping Ingenium- he'd thought maybe she was more than _just_ a decent person. Maybe she was loyal, and very brave, and she truly cared about other people... He'd hoped that when he met her, she didn't get annoyed with him for his nervous behavior, or tell him he needed to toughen up, or turn out to be cold. He hoped she was patient, and calm, and that she was- at least- something of a decent person, and maybe more than that; A truly good person, and a truly good Pro.

He'd been so nervous about all of this, and he still was. Upon finding out she'd offered to take him as an Intern, his nerves had all but skyrocketed. He'd been beside himself with shock and confusion, and then unease quickly settled in, and with it so did fear. He hadn't even been sure he would accept it, how could he? Was it a good idea to be around the Pro that he looked up to, but didn't really know? Was it worth it to risk shattering his hopes about who she was, and her personality? Was it worth it to risk her being rude or curt, or even dismissive of him when they met and spent time with one another?

He hadn't been sure the entire time- even when he first met her this morning, he still hadn't been sure... but he was sure now.

Animal Spirit was so much kinder and gentler than he had ever expected, or even hoped she would be. Even in what few hours they had been together, she had been patient with him and his nervous behavior, acceptant of how he wanted to communicate. She'd been nothing less than friendly and even supportive of him the entire day... And now with her promise to keep him safe, and seeing how much she meant it- meant it just as much as she had when she talked about Ingenium- he felt his heart flutter.

They say never meet your Heroes, but he was glad he met her. She proved that saying wrong in so many ways, and it was _only_ the _first day._

He smiled, nodding a little and looking both relieved, and even a little glad. Spirit smiled in return to the change in mood, and her eyes flashed as she watched him lift his head a bit and sit a little straighter.

"Thank you, Spirit-Sensei."

 **.:+:.**

"I'll see you tomorrow, and good work today." Spirit hummed, waving a bit as Koda backed up toward the train station platform. He nodded to her, smiling as he waved back, and quickly signed;

'I'll see you tomorrow, Spirit-Sensei. And thank you so much for today!'

He nodded once more, before turning and heading on to the train and amidst the current of people headed that same way. She lost sight of him in a few moments, and paused for a single second, before turning away and heading out of the station. Her hand rubbed the back of her neck as she smiled to herself a little,

 _... Spirit-Sensei, huh...? I guess... I don't really mind that he keeps calling me that..._

Harsh orange light was beginning to settle in over the whole of the city, and the sky was mimicking it's hue as she headed out. Pulling her phone from her suit pocket she gave it a look-over for (probably) the first time since that morning. A routine dismissal of the various news articles and notifications later, she scrolled through what little there was she cared about- and paused on one in particular.

 _Hawkward_ _  
I hope your first day of your Internship went well_

She popped the app open and read to see if there was more... but that was it. Right after his earlier (overzealous) congrats about the Rankings, there was just an 'I hope' and no trace of those silly, very Hawks-like embellishments and childish cheer. The message was so normal and even formal, she just stared for a few seconds.

She didn't bother to wonder why he knew about it, she knew full well she'd been seen by enough people today with Koda, that news about it would have spread. And Hawks being Hawks, he was very much invested in the news and media and whatever, so of course that notification would have popped across his phone. Similar to what little attention she had allowed on her own array of news notifications, she had seen something along the lines of 'Hawks UA Intern...' or whatever.

But he sounded so... _boring, maybe? Is that the right word?_

 _Or is he still pouting?_

She sighed heavily and ignored the message, not bothering a reply and walking away from the station she stuck her phone in her pocket again. Her Internship was over, and now her first day of Happy Hour was to begin... and damn it she really just didn't want to go. She couldn't do that though, and she supposed she couldn't really leave anyone at the Club without a bartender for the night... and she had Okita to look after too, so she had to go.

She paused at the end of a sidewalk and ran her hand through her bangs, her other landing on her hip and grazing the wound there- enough she hissed and her hand recoiled.

 _Right... I keep forgetting about that..._

She shook her head at herself, her figure blurring and distorting at the edges as she melted into a red-black haze. From the cloud of non-reality and black, glass-like snow, an eagle sprung up into the air and took to the sky with ease, leaving Heiku behind _._

 _Happy Hour here I come_

* * *

 **Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! (Not a lot of exciting stuff happened, but hopefully that's okay!)**

 **Thank you all so very much for reading, and all the reviews you've been leaving! You guys have been asking lots of great questions, and it makes me so happy to see you guys getting so invested in this story!**

 **I'm actually going to answer a few of the questions you guys have given me! (Whilst keeping spoilers at bay~!)  
I do tend to answer comments/questions over on wattpad when people ask, but it's a little harder to do on Fanfiction, but I will give it a go!  
**

 **.:+:.**

 **1.** **.y: 'I** **s her 'uncle' figure in chapter 7 Kurogiri? If not great, but with the bar and all, I'm asking on a whim.'**

 **\- Ah, no! Sorry, but it's not Kurogiri (that would have been interesting though!). Rest assured, stuff about Spirit's family will be revealed as the story progresses!**

 **2\. Love Remedy: 'I'm curious as to how old Spirit is? It's kind of presented that she is fairly young for being a Pro Hero, but at the same time she keeps criticizing Hawks for childish behavior. How much older than him is she? Or is it just that she's more seemingly mature than him. Also curious onto why you had Hawks so low on the ranking list, since he was #3 when he took Tokoyami on in canon.'**

 **\- At current, Spirit is 22 years old, and Hawks is also 22 years old. Hawks' birthday is December 28, while Spirit's birthday was January 1st of the following year. So actually, Hawks is older than Spirit by a few days! But he is a lot less mature than she is, that's why she's always pointing it out.**

 **\- As for Hawks' Ranking, I do know that cannonically he was already the #3 Hero when Tokoyami Interned underneath him. For the sake of the story, I decided to have Hawks and Spirit be a bit closer in their Rankings, and make a point to set Hakws up as a Hero who is quickly moving up the ranks (at almost impossible speeds). He'll reach a Monthly rating of #3 in the following month of this chapter, and by the end of the year he will be the #2 like he is in the manga. I've just reworked a few things, hope you guys don't mind.**

 **3\. Padgent: 'Ooo are you going to write about the students who she requested to intern with reactions to finding out that they have her offer?'**

 **\- Yes, I will have a little bit about Koda and Class 1-A finding out about Spirit offering him to Intern, in the next chapter, or the one after that. I haven't quite decided yet~**

 **4\. NarieMarie: 'I would say it may be useful to look for a beta reader. There weren't ton of grammatical errors or anything, but I think you tend to be a little overly descriptive (which is still better than not adding enough description!) and maybe talking to someone you trust could help to make the flow a little more natural?'**

 **\- (not really a question, but I will reply!) Thank you for the advice, I might look for a beta reader, but in the meantime I will try and keep the descriptions a little less over the top from now on! I will look out for it as I edit, and do my best, so thank you for bringing it to my attention!**

 **.:+:.**

 **Alrighty! Questions done- ONE MORE THING!**

 **I have a full Bio up of Spirit on Amino/Deviantart, if you guys wanted to know more! (Do be aware this is a very detailed bio, and may spoil the story a bit- most particularly at the moment- who her Favorite Pro Hero is ... so read at your own risk, you are likely to find out stuff you don't wanna know yet (or do? lol Idk)~)**

 **I can't link anything through this site, so google 'EnergyMageFrea on deviantart' and it should pop up (also, if you were unaware until now, EnergyMageFrea is my main account...). You'll be able to find the reference pics of Spirit, and her Bio will be in the description!**

 **Cool, all done, so thank you all for reading!**

 **Please, follow, fav and Review if you can! Thanks!**


	13. Chapter 13- Unexpected

**Chapter 13**

 **Unexpected**

 **.:+:.**

 _... we were so bad for each other... we should have seen it..._

 **.:+:.**

 _Two Days Ago-_

"I got stopped and congratulated by a ton of people this morning!"

"Me too man!"

"We're super popular because of the Sports Festival, it's insane!"

"UA really is something, huh?!"

The classroom was awash with noise, everyone in their seats or hovering outside of them, all excitement and amazement and even nervousness. Every student in Class 1-A was spread around, leaning over their own desks and others, talking away with bright smiles as they recanted their journeys to school that morning, and what amount of popularity they were enjoying from the general public in the quake of the Sport's Festival. Due to the event being the most anticipated and most watched event in all of Japan, it was no surprise to find that the students were being hounded by excited fans and spectators- especially the ones that had made it to the finals, and really made a scene.

But regardless of being in the spotlight or not, each and every Hero Course student felt that lasting excitement and intrigue from the public. They earned stares and smiles and crowds, well-wishes and exclamations of amazement, and awe... and while many of them were eager for the attention, they were still a bit flustered too (some more than others).

The sound of the door sliding open curtly cut the clamor and the chatter off. Everyone scurried to their seats and fell quiet as the familiar, unkempt figure of their Homeroom Teacher shuffled into the room, his hair a mess and chin buried in his Capturing Device, and a file tucked under his arm.

"Morning." Mr. Aizawa muttered dryly,

"Morning." The class replied evenly, and the older man stopped at the podium in front of the classroom, a hand running through his bangs.

"Now to begin... today's Class is going to be a bit different." Mr. Aizawa muttered lowly, the class as a whole perked up at the words. "Because the Sports Festival has concluded, and Pro Heroes and their Agency's have had a chance to take a look at all of you, we will begin the first stages of creating your Hero identities." The man mumbled, "In other words, today we will be creating your codenames... your Hero Names."

The quiet and attentive class burst from their seats, excitement pushed back into overdrive as several of them threw their hands up in air.

"YESS!"

Aizawa's hair stood on end as he shot the class a deadly glare, his eyes flashing red for a moment and everyone quickly sitting back down and shutting up- though they were clearly on the edge of their seats still. The older man let out an agitated sigh and shook his head, his eyes dropping closed again.

"... this is in relation to the Internship nominations I mentioned the other day." He grumbled, "They mean little now, being in your first year... they're more just expressions of 'interest' in your future, rather than a promise you will have one. It isn't rare for that 'interest' to dry up by the time graduation rolls around, or just simply be dropped altogether... that being said, you should do your best to represent yourselves, and the school, in the best way you can. A good word from a Pro in this Internship _might_ help open doors down the line, depending what happens in the midst of it." The students nodded stiffly in understanding, and Mr. Aizawa seemed to pause, before sighing in exasperation and lifting a small remote up from the podium. "Moving on... the tally of all the Internship offers."

He clicked a button on the remote and a screen lit up behind him over the blackboard, series of horizontal lines stacking up with numbers and names... and quite a massive disparity between the first two, and all those that followed.

"Usually the offers are a bit more balanced... but clearly this year, the attention leaned toward two of you in particular." Mr. Aizawa grumbled, and the class let out small sighs and little smiles as their eyes traced over the top two.

 _Shouto Todoroki: 4,123_

 _Katsuki Bakugou: 3,556_

"Ah, as to be expected of Todoroki and Bakugou..."

"But hey, 1st and 2nd place are reversed!"

"Seein' Bakugou all straight-jacketed on the podium must have scared the Pros off..."

"PROS AIN'T GONNA BE SCARED OF ME, STICKY-ARMS!"

"Hey, Tokoyami and Iida did pretty good though!"

"You got some too, Yao-momo!"

"Heck yeah, I'm up there!" Kaminari grinned,

"Man, I didn't think I'd get any at all..." Kirishima mumbled with a nervous smile,

"M-me either...!" Ururaka stammered, her face turning bright red as her eyes trailed down the list and found her own name. Sero smiled lazily,

"I'm surprised too..." Sero mumbled,

 _Todoroki: 4,123_

 _Bakugou: 3,556_

 _Tokoyami: 360_

 _Iida: 301_

 _Kaminari: 272_

 _Yaoyorozu: 108_

 _Kirishima: 68_

 _Ururaka: 20_

 _Sero: 14_

... and the bars grew increasingly minuscule next to each name as the end of the list neared, and the students finally read to the very bottom- and most of them froze. But not a single one of them went more still than the large, blocky, and very much stunned boy sitting near the back _,_ in the second to last row. Immediately following Sero, and his 14 offers, was;

 _Koda: 1_

"Woah, holy crap!"

"Koda, you got an offer!"

"Sweet man!"

"Good job!"

"Wow, I wonder which Pro pegged you?!"

The poor boy went stiff as a board, the breath catching in his throat and wide eyes as he stared at his name written up on that screen, and the singular, almost daunting '1' written beside it. His face went bright red, his hands moving up to quickly cover his face as he felt the eyes and attentions of all his classmates turn on him, and his stomach did a million flips in reaction. He hunched in on himself, trembling in shock and awe and embarrassment as he did his best to keep from looking at anyone at all, or meeting their gazes as they turned to him and said what they will.

Because _w-WHAT?!_

Aizawa grumbled a bit under his breath, his jaw clenching as the attention of the class got instantly diverted from himself and toward the very outstanding nomination. Naturally, because unlike the rest of all the names on the board, Koda had not been a member of the final rounds of the Sports Festival, and would not have earned that attention from the Pro Hero Community normally...

"Listen up." Mr. Aizawa ordered sharply, sparing the boy from being looked at and talked to much longer as the class immediately snapped back to attention. "Regardless of this, or if you received an offer or not, you will all be participating in Internships. We have several Hero Agencies signed on to take you even if you weren't made an offer, and being able to experience the day to day of an actual Pro will prove fruitful in your training."

"So that's why we all need Hero names, right?" Sato grinned, Aizawa nodded.

"Oh this is gonna be great!"

"I'm so excited!"

 _"_... of course the names you pick needn't be permanent, place-holder names will do." He mumbled, "But you do need to pick something appropriate-"

"-Because if you don't, it'll be hell from here!"

Mr. Aizawa got cut off by another voice, and a familiar one, as the students turned to the new figure walking into the classroom. She licked her lips, her hands falling on her hips, suit skin tight and sultry glance darting over each student.

"Midnight!"

"In many cases, the names you choose here will stick with you for the rest of your life- so be sure to pick a name you wish for the world to know you by!" Midnight hummed, stopping at the podium and pushing her glasses up from her nose and into her hair.

"These names will be a projection of your future, so choose something that describes you and your essence as a Pro Hero!"

Koda glanced up shyly from behind his hands, his heart beating a million times a minute in his chest and utterly glad that Midnight had the attention of his class-mates just then. His feet shifted nervously across the floor and he leaned over a bit, his hands clasped together in front of his face and his eyes darting passed the R-Rated Hero and toward the board behind her.

 _'1'_

 _... w... what Pro Hero... would choose me...?! I-I didn't even... I didn't even do well in the Sports Festival...!_

He grimaced, his eyes shutting tight as he bit down on the inside of both his cheeks. He pressed his forehead against his folded hands, his stomach knotting a million times more and his heart gave no indication of slowing it's panicked tempo. He didn't know if he even wanted to know who it was that had made the offer, could his heart take it?

 _W-who could that... even be...?! And... and why me...?!_

 **.:+:.**

 _"... those of you who received offers, will get a personalized list. The rest of you, pick from the list of available Agencies. Details on hours, and specifications for sleeping arrangements are listed under each name. You might want to choose Internships that center on the area of Heroism you plan to go into, whether it be urban or rural, or more Villain-centric vs. relief and disaster work."_

He'd hardly been able to keep still as Mr. Aizawa lazily made his way among the rows and handed out papers, the chatter from the Hero Names workshop spilling into the new section of Hero Offices. Plenty of people got distracted by their list of available places to Intern, and they were already tossing around ideas and questions to their classmates by the time the Erasure Hero made it toward the last few rows of desks.

But as soon as Mr. Aizawa stopped at the edge of Koda's desk, the boy could feel the attention of his classmates divert and lock on to him- and on to the stack of two papers that Mr. Aizawa held out to him. He almost heard the collective question in their minds;

 _'Who offered to Intern Koda?'_

He hesitated to take the papers offered to him, and Mr. Aizawa blinked lazily.

"You will choose from the list of Agencies that those who did not receive offers are looking over, in the event you decide to turn down the offer you received." The Erasure Hero explained flatly, and Koda blinked. "You are not obligated to accept the single offer in any way, choose whatever Agency, and whatever specific area of Heroism you think best, and are more comfortable with." The man muttered and Koda blinked again, before nodding stiffly and shakily reaching forward to take the papers being handed to him. Once handed off, Mr. Aizawa continued in his passing out of papers and eventually retired to the front of the room, and in the embrace of a familiar yellow sleeping bag.

Koda felt the other students glancing his way curiously as he took the papers in hand, and held them in front of him stiffly, his eyes focused on nothing but his name listed at the top, and not daring to read further. Thankfully his classmates had the better sense than to immediately jump toward him and ask what the paper read, though he was fairly sure that Sato behind him and a few others were trying to crane their necks to see.

Koda couldn't move though, and no matter how hard he tried to force his eyes to move down the paper, he couldn't do that either. He could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ears, hear the roar of his blood rushing through his veins and the chatter of his class became almost hauntingly quiet on his ears. Everything dropped away and he just sat there, still as a statue and terrified to just read.

 _Who could it be?_

He'd kept asking himself that all through coming up with Hero Names, and he couldn't get it to go away.

What one Pro, in all of Japan, decided to offer to Intern him? _Him?_ He who hadn't done well at all in the Sports Festival and surely hadn't made enough a spectacle of himself to even be noticed... so who noticed _him_ of all people?

He wasn't even interested in being noticed, and yet he had been- and that shocked him and scared him, because it didn't make any sense, and he didn't know what to do with the realization.

Was it someone bad? And that was why Mr. Aizawa made a point to tell him that he didn't have to accept? Was there a reason he _wouldn't_ want to accept...?!

None of it made any sense!

Koda gulped, trembling now and the paper shaking in hand with it. He sucked in a sharp breath of air and shook himself, doing his best to harden his will and to move his eyes down the paper and toward that name beyond 'Hero Agency/Pro Hero Name:'

And he froze, again, his eyes reading the name and then rereading it once, twice, three times, and then several after that... because he had to be reading it wrong, right...?!

 _N-no way...!_

He felt his face flush, hot and throbbing as his heart pound painfully against his rib-cage in a rush of shock and disbelief. He felt faint, lightheaded, dizzy and reeling as he pulled the paper forward and buried his face in it, shaking from head to foot and mind whirling.

 _T-that can't be...!_

 _W-why... why would she pick m-me...?!_

Tokoyami in the desk to Koda's left looked up, the papers in his hands that he had previously been reading falling a bit, and blinking as the large boy hid his face in his own papers so quickly. Many other people around them glanced toward Koda curiously, interests peaked at the reaction that was a little more flustered and frantic than was usual for the shy kid. Several of them (Mina and Kaminari specifically...) looked ready to leap up from their seats in hardly contained question, more than ready to get an answer to what they were all (well, almost all) wondering. And Koda's shy and utterly quiet behavior, and now the sudden panic and nervousness had them chomping at the bit a little.

"... oh come on already...!" Mina hissed under her breath,

"I'm bursting at the seams here...!" Kaminari mumbled,

Both Mina and Kaminari stiffened though, cold chills running up their spines as they suddenly felt Mr. Aizawa's steely glare settled on their backs, and they sat down, quieting themselves in an instant. They needn't look at Mr. Aizawa to know what look he had on his face, and what it meant;

 _'Leave him alone'_

Many of the other students took the chilling stare from their teacher as cue, and did their best not to stare at Koda, or make their interest known... but there were many still waiting with bated breath, and Koda didn't seem to even be breathing. He shook his head at himself, burying his face further into the paper, the scent of ink wafting up from it- and from that name that just _couldn't_ be there.

 _There was just no way! S-she wasn't even at the Sports Festival...! S-she...!_

It had to be some sort of mistake, right?!

 _There's just no way...!_

His eyes opened a little, the paper still pressed close to his face and tilted down just enough he could see the name in his eyeline, and he felt his face was as hot as an inferno.

 _W-Why would she ever be interested in_ ** _me?!_**

Despite how much he wanted to think his eyes were deceiving him, they most certainly were not. Without any doubt, those letters on the page definitely spelled _Animal Spirit._

 _Animal Spirit, the No. 26 Hero in all of Japan_

 _And she offered to Intern_ _ **me...?!**_

He couldn't breathe, let alone come to terms with the information or what it meant. And he surely didn't know if he was _okay_ with it either, and how could he be...?!

 _She's one of my favorite Pro Heroes... I could never imagine even meeting her face to face, let alone training with her...!_

 _What am I going to do...?!_

The papers scrunched a little in his hands as he folded in on himself that little bit more.

 _N-none of this makes... A-any sense...!_

He wasn't sure how long he was siting there, his mind and emotions and chaos and locked up inside. He never made any noise, but he was more or less screaming internally- and he surely never looked up again either.

At least, not until there came a soft tap on his shoulder and he sat up straight, his head snapping around and panic racing through him at the unexpected contact. His attention landed on the stoic face of Tokoyami, the other boy having reached over to gain his attention and tilted his head as their eyes met. Dark Shadow hovered near his shoulder, it's head tilted too.

"... Are you alright?" Tokoyami asked quietly, and Koda gulped, his eyes gleaming as he started to nod out of instinct- before slowly shaking his head instead. Tokoyami blinked at the answer, pausing for a moment, before his expression softened a little. "... Is something wrong...?" He asked slowly, almost unsure if that was the right question or not, and Koda's eyes dropped.

He cast a look at the papers he held on to with trembling hands, before he turned and handed them quietly over to Tokoyami, the smaller boy looking surprised at the gesture, before his hands moved up to take the papers from Koda. Koda's hands retracted and started in a series of gestures that Tokoyami was (more or less) familiar with, the action keeping his eyes off the papers he held on to for a few seconds more.

'I just don't know what to do, or even think, or feel. I'm so surprised and confused... I just don't understand why... Well, why she would pick me, of all people... I wasn't even in the final rounds like everyone else, this doesn't make any sense...' Koda's hands explained quickly, and Tokoyami blinked.

 _She?_

Tokoyami's eyes dropped from Koda and toward the papers he had been handed, quickly scanning over the lettering and stiffening as he read the name listed.

He glanced up quickly from the paper when he noticed Koda's hands started moving again, though.

'Its just, she's one of my favorite Pro Heroes and I can't imagine even being around her, let alone Interning with her... I'm so nervous now, and I'll be worse if I'm around her, I don't want to make a bad impression or... Or what if she's not like... I don't know, like how I imagine?' Koda gestured, his eyes downcast and quickly looking more and more nervous. 'I don't know, I just... She's a Hero I really look up to, and what if she's not like what I think? O-or if I mess up and she hates me, or I disappoint her somehow...? She's a top Pro, and I'm not really that good, so is it even okay, o-or worth it to make a fool of myself in front of her...? Oh that would be mortifying...!' Koda's hands ceased as he held his face in them next, flushing a little as he shivered at the thought.

"... There's no way I can accept it... I c-can't face her..." Koda whispered quickly, his voice trembling as Tokoyami grimaced a bit. "... I-I'm not good enough, for a Pro like her..."

Tokoyami glanced from Koda and to the papers slowly, a small sigh escaping him as his eyes flashed. Dark Shadow hummed a bit, scooping up the pile of papers belonging to Tokoyami, and holding them as his host gently set Koda's papers back down on the large boy's desk.

"... I understand your reservations." Tokoyami murmured gently, Koda blinked in surprise at the words. Tokoyami let out a long, heavy sigh and took the papers from Dark Shadow, before handing them across toward Koda. "... I find myself in a similar situation, and admittedly, I have many of the same thoughts and doubts as you do... As well as some confusion, and shock." Koda blinked a few times, his eyes on the papers and hesitating for a few long moments before he slowly reached out and took them. The quiet young boy's eyes quickly scanned the list of offers, and the many names and Agencies listed without really knowing why Tokoyami had decided to give him the list- until he did. And upon reading _that_ name, his eyes went wide in awe, rereading once, and then quickly looking up toward Tokoyami again.

Tokoyami crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, his eyes front and suddenly looking the slightest bit nervous. "... I'm not sure I live up to someone like him either... But maybe we ought to have faith they both chose us for a reason, even if we do not know what it is." Tokoyami mumbled softly. Dark Shadow nudged him affectionately, causing Tokoyami to flush slightly, and pointedly clear his throat. "... And perhaps have faith that we won't be any sort of 'disappointment'... More faith that we are capable of greater things than we assume."

Koda smiled slightly at the words, nodding a little. Tokoyami noticed it from the corner of his eye, and nodded too.

"... Perhaps we should also have faith that our expectations will prove true." Tokoyami went on, before pausing, and then looking a bit wary.

"... At least the good expectations... Hopefully any bad ones do not come true..."

 **.:+:.**

 _Present-_

"Another over here, darling!"

"Keep 'um coming!"

"Come over here, huh sweetheart~? I wanna see ya!"

"Hurry the hell up, I'm thirsty!"

"Oh you are much better looking than that weirdo who usually runs the bar~!"

Spirit grit her teeth, a vein ticking on her forehead as she did her absolute best not to whip around and tell that last man to kindly _shut the fuck up._

They wouldn't stop. None of them. Every single man at the bar was goggling and laughing, barking orders and whistling, staring and leering and licking their lips- and they were on so very interested in 'Kage'.

She could handle being told to hurry up. She could handle having people place orders. She could handle it being _busy_... But she fucking _hated_ everything else.

For fuck's sake, even seeing how gladly all the men were with touching the girls and letting their eyes and hands wander was starting to piss her off- and that was part of their jobs!

And she absolutely _refused_ to leave the confines and safety of the bar. She would not lose what barrier that sturdy (and dirty) counter was between herself and all of _them_.

 _And I have to endure a week of this bullshit... God, fuck me!_

 _Why do I work here again?_

 _Oh right, I need money. And a job that won't ask too many questions, or try to dig into my life-_

Spirit averted her eyes from all of them as much as possible, and kept her attention on her work instead. She nodded to the orders and apologized for the wait, but ignored the flirting and the comments and grit her teeth more and more as time went on. She poured drinks and slid them down the counter, picked up empty ones and washed them, stacked them- and went right back around and did everything again. There was no lull, no time for pausing, she was juggling all the orders of the people lined up at the bar, and the constant flow of orders from the lounge- brought to her attention by Okita, for the most part.

The young girl was moving back and forth between Spirit's corner of refuge, and milling about the lounge and all the seats and tables and dancers. She balanced a tray in hand, filled with new drinks and old ones, serving the customers and keeping track of new orders, and wove her way through the crowd and all the obstacles with an odd sort of grace. She earned just as much attention from the customers as any of the other (more experienced) girls did, their eyes watching her small, thin form move past them, the sheen of her pale hair in the harsh and smokey low-light, and the small glittering of the sequins dotting the dress that hugged her body so tightly.

Okita looked as calm as can be, somehow. She smiled at the men and nodded as she took orders, and shrugged off the flirting and advances and kept focused on what she was doing. Spirit afforded as much time as she could to keeping an eye on Okita as she left the bar, and she was surprised at how well the young girl was doing... And how well she hid how uncomfortable she was.

And she was definitely uncomfortable, Spirit saw the way her expression changed when none of the customers could see it, and she saw the nervousness in the girl when she came behind the bar to grab the latest round of drinks. She saw the faint trembling of the girl's arms as she held to her tray and Spirit stacked the drinks carefully atop it, and she saw the subtle rigidness in Okita's posture when someone brushed against her- whether it was a hand or a shoulder or anything else. Spirit had barely stopped herself from tossing a glass across the room when a man had drawn his hand across the poor girl's hip as she passed by- and then immediately acted as if it never happened.

In hindsight, maybe Bisha and everyone else had had a point about Spirit being able to handle the customers during the busiest hours... Because watching and dealing of this was wearing on her nerves and her patience very quickly.

And to be fair, Spirit had no problem with intimacy or flirting, or whatever the hell else- she _wasn't_ a prude (despite the girls thinking otherwise...). She just had a problem with all of that when it happened and one of the members of the exchange didn't appreciate the advances, or want them. If both party's were interested, have at it, have fun with it. _She_ would if she had chosen to be in that situation and with someone she wanted to be in it with.

But here?

This was a job, this wasn't for fun and it wasn't for pleasure- and the customers didn't always get that. And that irked her, especially when they went too far and thought they could get away with it.

 _... Maybe I do work in the wrong place._

Spirit set a round of drinks down in front of a man who had ordered them, picking up the empty ones he left and headed to the sink.

The air smelled of smoke, booze, perfume and sweat. The color of the overhead and stage lights danced in the misty trails lying thick on the air, everything felt warm and stuffy and a little hard to breathe, and the noise was never ending. Talking and whistling, breathing, footsteps, the clink of glass on tables and the shift of chairs, the jingle bracelets and the swish of fabric and skin on metal poles... All of that overlaid with the heavy, droning and near static drum of base and music on a constant roll. Of which, every once in awhile was broken by the sound of the owners voice over the microphone, or one of the girls on stage.

She cleaned the glasses and set them upside down to dry as she turned to filling more, and mixing drinks, scooping ice, the works. She was faintly aware of Okita making her way back across the room and toward her little citadel of liqueur and condiments, but she payed it little mind just then as another voice broke her concentration.

"Excuse me ma'am." A man's voice hummed lightly, soft and way too polite in the rumble of barked orders and sultry comments... and a little void of emotion too, almost flat and monotone in a way- and maybe a bit irritatingly familiar to how Dante sounded, but she did her best not to think about that.

 _That asshole wouldn't dare come here, right?_

Her eyes moved upward and scanned the bar in front of her, matching with the pale green gaze of a tall, lanky man with a thin face and a pair of glasses perched on the edge of his nose. Like most of the other men in the club, he was wearing a suit and tie, though he was lacking any sort of coat over his shirt, and he had his sleeves rolled up. She could see little lines running along the skin of his arms, almost like his skin naturally split apart like gills, and his hair was a wavy mess of short, dark green strands that brushed against his forehead and over his eyes in a few places.

Well, it wasn't Dante.

Spirit couldn't remember seeing him here before though, and he surely wasn't one of the regulars... but for a minute she blinked as their eyes met, blue on green, and he paused too, his polite smile fading slightly.

But that bit of hesitation didn't last hardly a second, before he smiled at her again and she saw the way his teeth were slightly pointed. "Sorry to bother you, I see you're busy." He hummed in that same strangely monotone, yet very polite voice and she quickly shook what little bit of her own hesitation that had appeared so suddenly.

"It's fine." She murmured, continuing in her filling of drinks and casting him a sideways glance as he squeezed between two of the other men at the bar, and took a seat on the empty stool there. "What can I get you?" She asked as she set her glasses down and easily slid them down the bar counter to those waiting for them.

"Whiskey, please." He hummed, and she nodded in confirmation.

"I'll have that up soon." She murmured, he settled his chin in his hand and smiled coolly.

"Take your time."

Spirit's attention turned from the newcomer and toward Okita as the young girl rounded the counter and stepped into Spirit's domain, the tray full with empty glasses and her eyes watching Spirit carefully as the older pulled the glasses off the tray.

"... you still doing okay?" Spirit asked quietly of the young girl, and Okita blinked at the question, nodding stiffly.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She replied softly, her voice just shy of a whisper. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek at the less than convincing answer,

"... you sure?" Spirit asked, her voice a little bit lower and Okita's eyes flicked away nervously.

"... yeah... it's just... busy..." Okita mumbled, "... I have the new orders." She murmured, steering the subject somewhere else and Spirit sighed internally.

"Alright."

Okita listed off the new drinks orders confidently, easily able to recall them with perfect clarity despite the amount there was... which was somewhere in the 30ish range. And on top of that she knew where every drink went, and where that recipient sat in all the mess. What she'd said about being good at remembering things had been a little bit of an understatement.

And Spirit fulfilled them dutifully, pouring things and setting them in order on the counter and on Okita's tray as she waited patiently for her to finish. And Spirit took her time, this time around, she didn't rush to finish and try to keep up with the bustle. She went as slow as she could without causing suspicion, just to earn a few extra minutes where Okita could stay back on this side of the bar and not have to contend with the rest of the lounge.

Okita hovered near the back wall, shifting left and right to stay out of Spirit's way as the older woman reached up onto the shelves for bottles and glasses and everything else in between. Spirit could feel Okita's purple eyes following her every movement, and every time she cast a fleeting look toward the other girl, Okita glanced away quickly... like really quickly.

 _So nervous still_

Spirit stacked the last few drinks she could on Okita's tray, leaving a fair number behind on the counter for her to come back for, and the younger girl picked it up carefully. She nodded to Spirit, murmuring a small 'thanks' as she headed back out from behind the bar, and Spirit paused to watch her walk away, her fingers tapping against the bar counter and eyes fixed to that head of long, pale white and blue hair as Okita wove in and out of the other bodies in the room. She worked away in silence, her face expressionless as she set drinks down and picked up trash, glasses, whatever- and she nodded and smiled politely toward those that called her attention, making her way across the lounge. And Spirit stood still, watching in utter silence and her eyes narrowing at the way Okita seemed to stiffen when she drew closer to the far end of the lounge, and toward the round tables set up in alcoves there, before slowly, very slowly, headed back to bar on that same constant loop.

Her attention on the young girl failed when she felt her skin crawl a little, the sensation of someone else's eyes finding her with near the same intensity she had been watching Okita. Spirit glanced right slowly, her 'blue' eyes catching the calm and utterly expressionless gaze of that same man who had taken a seat at the bar and ordered. He was watching her closely, his chin in his hand and motionless. He blinked once as her eye caught his, blue on green, and he slowly glanced away again- but he took his time.

 _... okay... that's a little creepy..._

And that thought crossed her mind for no more than a second, before it occurred to her that he was watching her because she had failed to fulfill his order for several minutes now.

 _Shit_

She shook herself, her eyes searching for Okita again as the girl slowly trailed back to the bar, and Spirit let her attention divert to pouring drinks again.

She set a glass down in front of the man with the green eyes and poured the whiskey in, muttering a small apology for the wait. He shook his head with a small, cool smile. "Not a worry." He hummed with ease, and Spirit nodded, but she turned away from him soon after. Okita was already stacking the leftover drinks on her tray in silence, and Spirit left her to it as she went back to catching up with the orders and customers sitting at the bar counter.

And she kept that cycle up as the hours dragged by, constantly shifting her attention between the people in her vicinity, to preparing the orders Okita and the other girls brought up, and then keeping an eye on the girl as she made her rounds. The more time passed, the worse the stink of liqueur and sweat got, and then slowly became more chocked with the aroma of cigarette smoke- of which hung on the air in a thick, ever constant blanket. The ambience and the noise and the smoke had long since started to give her a headache, and her willingness to remain some semblance of polite with the customers whittled down to near nothing.

As 1 in the morning came into sight, Spirit ordered Okita into the back rooms to take a break and hoped the reprieve would settle what unending tension there seemed to be in the young girls shoulders. Which left Spirit alone with the bar and the orders for a little while, and it was still as busy as before, but slowly winding down... and to be honest, the business wasn't what had had her attention for some time now.

Remember that guy? With the glasses and the green eyes, and who had ordered whiskey?

He'd been sitting there at that same stool the whole time, his hands hooked around the glass of whiskey he'd barely taken more than a few sips of. His eyes wandered the club, moving over the stage and the crowds, and even briefly scanning the girls... but inevitably his attention always landed back on the bar, and in particular- _her._

He watched her work more often than not, his green eyes following her busy hands and her back and forth, fixed as she stacked glasses and cleaned them. She could feel his gaze latched onto her back when she turned it, and when she did look back at him, he returned the look for a few long seconds, smiled, and then looked away again.

A few minutes later? Repeat.

The more time that passed, and the hours where he barely finished half his drink, and had made no move to leave, she was becoming increasingly more wary about him.

 _Who the fuck is this guy? And why is he just sitting here, watching me?_

Paranoid of her maybe... but she had to be paranoid, and at this point it was instinct. She hated attention and she surely hated it from people she didn't know, and who were paying her way too much mind.

Even worse, they were paying her mind- _Kage_. Kage was supposed to be that alter ego of hers that didn't get attention, that was the point of living here, and working here... she was supposed to just be boring, not at all interesting Kage.

And yet clearly something about her interested that guy, and her core knotted at the thought, all manner of things and questions running through her mind and making her about ten times more paranoid.

After about the fiftieth time of catching her gaze and holding it, he smiled and let out a small, hollow little chuckle and she stiffened.

"You are very wary of me." He commented lightly, and she grimaced a bit, halting in place a few paces from where he was sitting. "Understandable I suppose, and I apologize if I'm making you uncomfortable... my watching you is little eerie, I imagine." He murmured and Spirit just held his eyes in silence, and he nodded. "I apologize again. I just have a hard time finding things to keep my attention for very long... Not much seems to amuse me, unfortunately." He commented, almost offhandedly and Spirit's eyes flashed. He tapped his fingers against his glass, looking away from her and sweeping that green gaze of his over the lounge. "Hmm... even with all the movement in this building, I'm still a bit disinterested... I suppose that just goes to show that none of this is really my fancy." He smiled wryly, and Spirit grumbled under her breath. "... hmm... this might surprise you, but I don't usually come to places like this... let alone come to Shinjuku Kabukicho." He went on, and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek. "This is only the second time I've ever been here, hehe..."

"... why come, then?" Spirit asked rather bluntly, and his eyes trailed back toward her slowly. "Or stay for that matter, if you're actually that bored?"

"Hmm... I was feeling restless, so I headed out to find something to do, and this District is known for being full of amusements of all kinds." he replied easily, shrugging a little. "As I said, I find it very difficult to find things that can keep my interest, so I thought I would give Kabukicho a shot." His green eyes glittered as Spirit kept that stony stare on him, his lips twitching at the corners. "As for staying? While I can't say I'm whole-heartedly riveted on anything, I'm not entirely bored either... I have nowhere better to be, so I have no reason to leave. I am somewhat content, just sitting here. And that's better than I usually earn."

"... _Right_." Spirit deadpanned slightly, and he looked a little amused by the reply.

"Heh, are you usually this suspicious of your customers?" He asked with ease, Spirit's hands settled on her hips.

"Just the ones who order a drink, and spend the next four hours only drinking half of it." She replied flatly, he smirked.

"Fair enough." He hummed, his fingers wrapping around the glass and finishing the drink off with one swig. He set the cup back down and swallowed, before sliding it forward in her direction. "I'm Yoichi Mamoru, by the way." He told her politely, and Spirit only blinked once. "And you're Kage, yes? That's what everyone here seems to call you." Spirit grimaced internally, but nodded just once.

And honestly she didn't care to know his name, but she would remember it now that it had been given- if only so she could look him up later and determine if he was a threat or not.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Kage." Mamoru murmured lightly with a dip of his head toward her, "And please do forgive me, for putting you in such a wary mood. I meant no harm." He smiled, scooting his chair back and standing up as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Perhaps I'll bump into you again sometime?" He smiled coolly, and her eyes narrowed at the comment. "In the meantime, I wish you good luck in your ventures." He murmured lightly with a wave of his hand over his shoulder as he started to walk away and toward the front doors. Spirit watched him silently, her fingers digging into her hips a little and her expression twisting in suspicion.

 _... I did not like that... at all._

She lost sight of him and his green hair as the front door of the club closed behind him, and she glared at the closed door, her jaw clenching.

 _... Yoichi Mamoru..._

 **.:+:.**

"... I think tomorrow we'll start with some of that training I mentioned." Spirit hummed lightly, casting a glance up toward Anima walking along at her shoulder. He glanced her way as she said the words, the both of them walking slowly along the sidewalk, and today a bit more at ease among the masses and the general public on the walkway around them.

After leaving the Club and that _utterly_ suspicious Mamoru behind, Spirit had gone home, gone to bed, and done her best to not brood about him or anything having to do with last night, and all the men, and the noise- ugh.

And just like clockwork, she woke up a few hours later, abandoned the clothes and alter-ego of Kage, and stepped back into her role as Animal Spirit. She headed out of the Red Light District and arrived at the Train Station right on time (well actually a few minutes early) in order to meet Koda as he got off the train, and day two of the Internship began.

And thanks to whatever god or power there was, noon had already come and gone in their patrolling, and nothing had gone awry. They'd dealt with little but a few fighting groups of kids, help set up barriers for the police when another Pro was busy with a D-Class Villain, and just generally kept an eye out while moving about the city.

It was a slow, easy, boring day... And honestly she felt maybe her luck was going to wear thin pretty soon here. Because honestly? How likely was it they went two full days without _something_ happening?

 _Not likely at all_

... So now she was on a bit more high alert, even with the relative calm of Patrol.

 _I mean, this is_ _ **me**_ _we're talking about... I always end up in a mess, right when everything seems to be going good._

 _Just please don't let whatever it is that is coming be like... Like hell, or anything, okay?_

So she was keeping an eye on everything and everyone, always with her ears perked and her nose on edge. She was trying not to seem like she was waiting for hell to break loose outwardly, so she didn't freak Koda out or anything if he noticed her tenseness... And she honestly thought she was doing a good job of it.

 _I guess hiding things is a talent... It would have to be, for me._

She cursed herself for that last thought and settled her attention on Koda instead.

In the midst of today's Patrol, and the various things they got involved in, he had asked more questions. Namely logistical things; little bits about how she handled jobs/missions sanctioned by the police or other official groups, and how often those situations occurred. That bit was paired with a bit of discussion about working with other Pros, and the option of forming a group- as opposed to simply joining an Agency and belonging to that general overhead (Hero Groups are a bit more close-knit, and the chain of communication is much less official and long... Groups usually get formed by friends, and handle most of their own affairs internally, instead of dealing with Agency Heads and Boards...). Which in turn lead to a small discussion about Partnerships among Pros, and the addition of Sidekicks among some.

And as thus far, all fair and good questions, and Koda seemed to have no shortage of them... Not that Spirit minded. In fact, she kinda liked how much he was asking and engaging with her, and the whole subject. And maybe, some small, little part of her really enjoyed just having the chance to chat with someone so young and so eager to learn.

She wasn't the most talkative or social person, really, but she wasn't opposed to doing it... She supposed maybe she just had to find the right people to do the whole 'social' thing with, and the ones she liked and was comfortable around (Death Arms, for example... You know, her true and best friend... And only friend, really).

(Ah, and speaking of Death Arms- he'd called her last night just before getting to the club, and asked how the first day of the Internship went. That was a pleasant conversation, seeing as how she'd been able to tell him it went okay, as opposed to all the things she anticipated to go wrong... Retracting though!)

\- But damn, you know what?

She really _really_ liked this kid- and she hadn't been sure she even really _liked_ kids. She just never spent time with them, or aspired to, and coming into this Internship thing was more or less a test to see if she could even tolerate it. And she was doing more than just tolerating it- she thought maybe she was enjoying it, at least a little.

 _Or maybe I should say enjoying him? That I'm enjoying Koda?_

 _... Noooo, that kinda sounds a little creepy._

 _So yeah, I am sort of maybe, just a little, enjoying this Internship thing, even only after two days._

 _... Does saying I really really like this kid sound a little creepy too?_

She smiled wryly at herself, her hand rubbing the back of her neck a bit.

 _Crap... It kinda does... Moving on!_

"We'll probably stick to simple hand-to-hand combat stuff, technique and whatnot." she explained, and Koda nodded slightly, his hands gesturing quickly an 'okay'. Spirit hooked her arms behind her back and hummed, her eyes trailing from him and back ahead again. "... It'll probably be easier to teach you by doing, so most of the actual training will be brawling. You'll go up against me and we'll learn and correct things in the moment of the fighting." She went on calmly, missing the look of apprehension that dawned on the boy's face at the words.

Training was all fine and well, but the idea of going against her in a fight- even if it was just 'brawling'- that had his pulse quickening, and his stomach knotting. Because she was an amazing fighter, he had said that before, and he knew there wasn't a chance his skills even stacked up against her own, _not at all._

She could probably beat him with little to no issue, and in little time at all, and maybe she would... Though he hoped her promise to go easy on him from the day before was still holding weight.

It had to, right? Animal Spirit didn't seem like the sort of person to go back on her word, and she seemed nice enough not to work him into the ground... at least, he hoped he was right in thinking that about her.

Grant you he'd only 'known' and been around her for a little under two days now. So he didn't really _know_ her all that well, in the grand scheme of things. And because of that he could be totally wrong, maybe he was bound to be put through hell during this training with her... _Ah...!_

Koda shook his head at himself furiously, holding his cheeks in his hands as he grumbled internally.

 _She wouldn't go really hard on me, of course not! She's not like that... She... She's nice...!_

Spirit cast the boy a sideways glance as he held his cheeks in his hands so suddenly, almost looking like he faded off into his own head for a minute, though she had no clue what about. She hummed a little under her breath but otherwise left it alone, she figured he wouldn't much like being asked right then... Nervous as always.

Her lips pulled slightly at the edges for a minute, before she looked back ahead again and sighed silently.

 _... He's a little less nervous than Okita... She was really tense last night..._

She bit the inside of her cheek at the thought, her red eyes glittering.

She stiffened a little in surprise though, feeling her phone buzz in the pocket of her suit and instantly catching her attention. She silently pulled it out and let the screen come to life, halfway expecting something from Death Arms- but of course that wasn't it, and she wasn't really surprised.

 _Hawkward:_  
 _Good afternoon Sunshine, how are you~? Anything exciting happen with your Internship yet~?_

She sighed internally, her eyes narrowing at the words.

 _... You're so persistent, Feathers... And why the hell is he messaging me? Shouldn't he be busy with his own Intern right now?_

 _Dumbass_

She locked the screen and put it back in her suit pocket, zipping the zipper back up with a small shake of her head. Koda cast the Pro a sideways glance at the sudden action with the phone, his head tilting. Animal Spirit never really got on her phone, like at all... Honestly he wasn't even sure he had seen her pull it out more than three times both today and yesterday. And the small hints on exasperation that seemed to appear in her as she shook her head had him a little curious.

 _Wonder what that was? Did she get a message or something...?_

He averted his eyes quickly, realizing he kept his eyes on her a little too long, and blushing faintly.

 _... t-that's not really my business...!_

Spirit glanced up a moment, her eyes trailing along the tops of the looking buildings all around, before slowly sinking toward the street level. She caught the glittering glance of a woman passing by, and smiled in return to the one she received from the lady as they passed one another by. The crowds and people were pretty thin on this street, and she wasn't surprised- she knew Heiku well, and this was one of the less frequented areas by people on foot. Though there was no shortage of cars moving down the road to her left, but she hardly paid them much mind, they were little but a drone.

Her red eyes narrowed to slits as they passed a large screen by, coupled to the side of a building and flashing a never ending series of ads and news and whatever. She usually wouldn't pay it much mind, but there was a familiar figure up there and she bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes quickly scanning the headline.

 _'Death Arms and UA Intern on scene of Hostage Situation'_

She unconsciously slowed up, her eyes scanning the headline and the bits and pieces of news van coverage of whatever building the whole thing was taking place in popping up on the screen. There was no actual visual on Death Arms or anyone inside of it, but there was a fair amount of Pros and Police forming a barricade around the space, and holding back the onlookers.

Koda noticed where her attention had gone almost immediately, and his hands wrung together in front of him as shock and worry flooded his expression the near instant he read the headline. Spirit heard him suck in a sharp breath of air and cast him a sideways glance, blinking when she saw his hands move up to hover over his mouth... _he looks a little freaked out._

"...o..oh..." He whispered the single word and Spirit blinked again.

"... You alright, Anima...?" She asked softly and he jumped at the question, his eyes quickly darting her way.

"O-oh sorry..." He mumbled quickly, his hand signing the words even as he said them aloud, almost like he forgot he was actually talking. "... I... My classmate is interning with Death Arms... I j-just hope she's okay..." He explained quickly with a small tilt of his head toward the screen.

 _Ah_

"... I really wouldn't worry." Spirit murmured softly, and Koda blinked at it. "Death Arms is a really responsible person, and he's always on top of things and thinking them through. I'm sure he has everything in hand, and your classmate isn't in any real danger." She assured him, and he nodded a little, only looking the slightest bit relieved.

"... I hope so..." He mumbled softly, his eyes darting back up to the billboard and away from her.

 _Death Arms is the most responsible person I know, of course he wouldn't put any kid in serious danger... Of course I know him really well, and Koda doesn't, so it makes sense to be a little wary of taking my word right-_

 _ **BEEEEEEEEEPPPPPP!**_

Spirit jumped, her heart catching in her throat and on a sudden high alert as the relative calm and quiet got shattered by the very loud, and incessant beeping of a car horn behind her. Someone seemed to have slammed their hand against the horn and refused to let up, and the source was quickly getting closer- and then more horns joined the mix, and the unmistakable skid of tires over asphalt.

 _Oh no-_

She was turning around long before the second, third, fourth and whatever more horns came up, her heels digging into the concrete and muscles tense as her blood-red gaze swept about in tandem with her body.

"Watch out!"

"A-Ah!"

She only caught a fleeting glance of a man pulling a younger woman away from the edge of the sidewalk and toward himself, her eyes skimped passed them and back the way they had come in an instant. And in the instant she did, she had little more than three seconds to make sense of what utter chaos was bearing down on where she and Koda were standing.

What had she said? About asking for whatever was coming _not_ to be some sort of hell?

There was a car hurtling straight toward them, skidding sideways and then tipping on it's edge as it flipped and met thin air for half a second- behind it came a loud series of crashes, broken glass and bent metal as several cars collided with one another, or with the surrounding buildings, lamposts, etc. The car headed their way smacked against the road with a crunch, bits of metal and glass left in its quake as it rolled again, and kept rolling at breakneck speed.

Right. Toward. _Them._

 _Fuck me-_

People were yelling and shouting, what few were on the street and those in nearby buildings- and of course those in the cars. Koda had started to turn around as Spirit did, and was about all the way turned when that car got within about seven feet from them, and she hissed.

 _I don't have time to move us out of the way, and it would suck to have this car roll out into oncoming traffic for the road behind us- ahh, shit, shit, shit, shiiiit!_

"Anima, step back as far as you can!" She ordered sharply without even the slightest glance back at the boy. She was already moving forward, taking a single step to the right in order to put herself directly between him, and the car rolling along like a mishapen, thousand-pound ball toward them. Black and red sparked off her form, her figure distorting and fracturing as she swept forward and disappeared in a haze, her eyes locked on to the car the whole time, and seven feet got cut down to four in a single second.

 _Crap!_

She huffed, her hooves slamming down on the concrete with a thud almost as loud as the screeching and bouncing of the car. Her head ducked as she jumped from the haze of black and red non-reality, and her shadow cast backwards behind her, suddenly massive. The car was inches from her as she did so, and she still pushed forward, forcing her nose and her horn into the mangled metal frame of the car and grunting against the impact of it's weight ramming into her fullspeed.

She immediately felt herself pushed back, her hooves digging into the street and stinging as she was dragged backwards across the rough surface, the frame of the car pushing painfully against her forehead, neck and shoulders. The collision had her bones rattling painfully and dull agony flashing through her skull, but she hardly cared about it- all her (sort of panicked and frantic) attention was on the fact that she was being _pushed backwards._

 _Shit, I have to stop this car, I can't get pushed back too much...! I have no clue how much space I even have before-!_

She felt her footing slip and her knees scrap across the road, the pavement cracking a little under her weight and the cars as she skid back a few more inches- and a few feet too many. She growled, immediately fighting for another foothold as she swung her weight forward against the car and slammed her hind legs into the road for leverage, the frame of the car gave way a little, lodging her horn into the base of it a bit more, and sticky oil splattering against her hide.

But her movement and the cars came to a shuddering, painful halt, and Spirit stood there, the weight of the car settled on her neck and shoulders and panting a little from the effort. There was a small second of stillness, her legs shaking a little and the car letting out a creaky, scratchy groan as she did her best to try and ground her feet again, and adjust.

The sudden chaos all around with the rolled car, and the multitude of others in pieces or bent together messes a little farther up the street, and all the yells and horns and people now rushing about- for a small second, all that dulled down a bit, and the noise faded too.

And there stood the now Rhino Animal Spirit, her horn dug into the lip of the bottom of the car, her body acting as a barrier and only a foot in front of where Koda was standing, trembling like a leaf and hardly keeping his knees from giving out... And now with Animal Spirit holding that mess of a car a few inches off the ground on the one side, and exactly on the spot where she and Koda had been standing not ten seconds before.

Koda stared, eyes wide and nearly teary as his jaw dropped and he stood there, paralyzed. He'd stumbled back a few paces when Animal Spirit ordered him to do so, but everything had happened so fast he'd only gone a tiny bit before she was wrestling with the car and doing her best to stop it moving any further. And in doing so, stop it from completely crushing herself and him.

And she stopped it, but with so little room to spare, his heart was racing, terror and shock running rampant through his veins. His lungs felt like they had seized, and he couldn't breathe. And he was shaking so much it was a miracle he hadn't fallen over.

All he could think about just then was how close he had come to just... He could have been killed..!

He sucked in a shaky breath of air, and he saw Animal Spirit's ears swivel back and in his direction, though she didn't move her head to look- she couldn't, she was more or less wrapped up in the car. The car that was very much flipped over and on it's top, her horn dug into the frame under the lip of the bottom of the car, supporting it's weight. The car had bent a little around where she was pressed against it.

And hell, she wanted to look, she almost did so without even thinking, but a dangerous groan of the car and the new sections of the frame collapsing where it sank further against the ground gave her pause. Somewhere in the back of her head she knew someone was in the car, though she couldn't see them, and she couldn't risk collapsing the car anymore than it already had. So she couldn't let it drop to the ground, it was probably too damaged to hold itself up, and she knew that.

But even then, the utmost, most pressing thing in her head at that moment was him- _Koda._

"Oi, Anima, are you okay..?!" Spirit asked quickly, her weight shifting a little and wincing internally as the car groaned, and pain raced through her side again. She did her best to look back at him and move as little as possible- but it wasn't possible, and she snorted a bit.

 _Shit, why the hell does this crap always happen with me...?! This is not good, damn it...!_

"Anima!" She called again when she received no answer. She could hear him behind her, and the panicked pace of his breathing- but that was it, and worry settled into her stomach in no time.

She shifted again and she heard something on the car snap, and immediately froze.

 _Fuck_

"... Anima, I need you to answer. I can't move, the car isn't gonna be able to hold it's weight if I set it down. The roof will collapse." Spirit called back, forcing her voice to soften a little and mellow out despite the situation, and her own racing heart and nerves. Her ear twitched as she heard him suck in another sharp breath of air, and she grimaced internally.

 _... He's probably panicking... And shocked too... I can't blame him, but..._

"... Take a deep breath for me, okay?" She instructed steadily, utter calm flooding her voice, somehow. "Take a deep breath and hold it... Then let it out nice and slow. Try and settle out again for a minute." She murmured, one ear still swiveled back to what general area Koda was in behind her, and her other ear moving forward as heard someone inside the car groan.

She heard Koda take in a very quick, but albeit big breath, and then nothing as he held it in. It was silence from the young boy for a few seconds, before he let the breath back out, shaky, but slow. Spirit waited for a few seconds to let him repeat the process, listening to the sound of his breathing ease a little, and then his feet shift across the cement. "... Good, now are you okay? Are you hurt?" She asked evenly,

"... N-no, I'm not hurt... I... I'm okay..." His quiet and trembling voice reached her ears, and she let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Good." She murmured softly, "... Alright Anima, I'm gonna need you to help me with this, alright? I'll tell you what to do, but I'm gonna have to stay still and keep this car steady, so I'm not gonna be able to help out with much else, okay?" Spirit asked, quickly changing the subject and latching straight on to the issue at hand.

"U-uhm... O-okay... I... I'll try my best, Spirit-Sensei..." He replied softly, and she heard him move closer, moving around her a bit and coming closer to the car. She managed some small, strained image of him out of the corner of her eye, but not much else.

"... You'll do fine, just take it slow, and be careful." She murmured, "I need you to look in the car, alright? Tell me how many people there are, and how hurt they look, and if they're conscious, and responsive." She instructed steadily, and Koda mumbled a small 'okay' before carefully leaning down to look into the car. He paused for a second, sliding his boots across the cement and the glass littered about, sweeping it all to the side to clear a space for himself before he settled down onto his knees beside the car.

"... Sir...? Can you hear me? A-are... uhm... Do you think you can you move...?" She heard the young boy call out, and he earned a somewhat pained groan in reply.

"... Mm... Yeah... Yeah I... I hear you..." came a man's pained and rough voice from somewhere in the car, followed by grunting and things clattering to the floor. "... I... I can move, but I'm stuck in the seat, the seatbelt won't budge..."

"... A-alright sir, please stay calm and as still as you can for now... W...we're here to help..." Koda assured quietly, before straightening up a little to glance at the massive figure of Animal Spirit beside him. "Spirit-Sensei, there's only one man in the car... H-he's in the drivers seat, and he's banged up... B-but he's awake... A.. And I don't see any really big injuries, just a bunch of cuts..." Koda informed and Spirit's ears twitched in sign she heard him.

"Alright, how does the car look?" She asked, "Do you think you can get him out of his seat and out of the car?"

"U-uhm... M..maybe... the door's hinges on this side look pretty damaged, if I can get it off, maybe..." Koda replied, a little uncertainly. "... I might be able to bend the frame too, but... But you'll have to keep it up off the ground all the way, Spirit-Sensei... so it doesn't break and close again..."

"I can keep holding this up as long as you need." Spirit murmured, "I'll keep it still, see if you can get the door loose and make a big enough opening for both you and the other guy. If the car starts to pull apart or fall in on itself, stop, alright?" She shifted again to square her feet that little bit more, biting back the wince in her throat from the ache of her neck and the wound in her side.

"... his seatbelt is still fastened, yeah?" She asked,

"Y-yes."

"... Alright, we'll deal with that when we get there." Spirit mumbled, "Tell him to be patient, and ask him if he's pinned by anything. If he is, moving the car could make everything worse. If not, he needs to steady himself against the ground and the roof of the car with his hands."

"R-right...!" Koda replied quickly, ducking down again as he recanted her orders to the man and asked what she needed.

Her ears swiveled for a moment, her immediate attention on Koda and the man in the car fading as she took note of everything else around them. Though she couldn't see it, there were several voices now and sounds of orders being thrown around- some other Pros must have come to lend a hand while the police were called and on their way. She didn't recognize any of the voices though, but from the words being tossed about, she figured the other cars involved in the accident were as badly banged up as this one... And people were stuck in those too. Everything was now a bit of a rush, from the sound of it.

"... Lend me a hand with this here!"

"I'll start setting up barricades for the connecting streets!"

"The paramedics are about eleven minutes out!"

Her ears swiveled backward toward the street behind her, and to the sound of someone's feet there and the murmur of voices, and squeaking brakes. She guessed the feet belonged to the person who had said he would start setting up barricades... You know, so no other cars tried to come down this street, only to be met with the crash(es).

"... Spirit-Sensei, he says he's only stuck because of the seatbelt. T-the frame on that side of the car hasn't bent in enough to pin him." Koda's voice came back into the forefront of her attention, "I've told him to steady his hands against the roof... I'm gonna start trying to pull the door off, okay?"

"Got it." Spirit replied with ease, "... Be careful messing with the door and the hinges and whatever. The car destabilizing aside, I don't want you getting cut up on the glass or metal, okay?"

"Y-yeah, okay..." He replied softly. But Koda paused for a second, his hands wringing together in front of him as he glanced around toward the edges of the street and not the car itself, almost looking for something. Spirit couldn't see him looking around, but she figured he had yet to start with the door- she couldn't hear anything, let alone feel the car itself move against her body from where she was holding it.

"You okay?" She asked after a moment, and Koda jumped.

"Y-yes!" He answered quickly, "... I... uhm... Spirit-Sensei, I have an idea, but I need to call a few animals out first, is that okay...? I-it won't take me very long, and I'm not going to go very far.." He explained, and Spirit's ears twitched at the words.

 _Idea, huh?_

"... If you think it'll help, go for it." She replied with ease, and his eyes widened a little in surprise at how quickly she relented. "Just do it as fast as you can, okay? And make sure to tell this guy to have a little patience..." She murmured, and Koda nodded firmly.

"I will!" He replied quickly, before he bent down a bit to get a look at the driver of the car. "Sir, I am going to be right back, please stay still! I-I'll help get this door off and the seat belt off soon, so please be patient...!"

"... mm... alright... just don't take too long kid." The man grumbled from inside the car, Koda straightened up, and with a last glance at the rigid figure of Animal Spirit, he quickly turned and headed toward the edge of the street, and to a drainage opening set into the pavement. Spirit's ears angled in the direction he moved off to, hearing the boy's hushed and slightly rushed words as he bent down to the pipe and cupped his hands around the edges of his mouth.

"Friends, please come! I need your help!"

 _... hmm... he calls all animals his friends, huh...? Wonder which ones he's hoping to get now..._

She shifted a little and the car groaned, so she cursed herself in her head and did her best to ignore the quickly growing ache in her neck.

 _... but he has a plan, and he's thinking on his own a bit now... and despite being a little frozen at the start there, he's shaken that off too... so despite the less than ideal situation, it's sort of going smooth now...?_

 _For now, maybe... shit Spirit, stop that._

"Animal Spirit, do you need help?"

She stiffened a little in surprise at the unexpected voice from somewhere to her left, she hadn't even heard anyone come close, and the voice immediately registered as familiar, though she hadn't a clue why. And without being able to move her head, she couldn't get a look at the owner either, but from the question (and the lack of sirens) she assumed it was another Pro Hero.

"Ah, apologies, I can see you're in a bind at the moment, and I doubt you recognize me by my voice." The voice went on, low and calm and flat, and she blinked, her eyes staring at the ground and the bits of jumbled metallic mess of the car in front of her face. She heard his feet get closer, "It is Killjoy, Animal Spirit. It has been some time since we've seen one another out in the field."

Spirit's red eyes flashed in recognition at the name, now immediately able to place the familiarity of the voice- _Killjoy._

He was another Pro Hero who worked and Patrolled in Heiku alongside her, and for it she had met him on more than one occasion while on Patrol, though their interaction had always been fairly limited (as was normal, she made a habit of limiting interaction with all other Pro Heroes and... well, everyone really). He was fine, she supposed, she had never talked with him much on those few occasions of seeing one another, and she knew little of him. Generally he was a capable Pro Hero, and the things he dealt with always turned out okay, and he didn't seem like a terrible person... but he did come off as... _Mm... What was the word...?_

 _Placid_

Of course that might be putting it gently, he was more or less very unexciting. He was very polite and professional with her, yeah, but he was very bland and he didn't really emote very well. He seemed mostly quiet and tired... And maybe that was par for the course, given what his Quirk was. She think she remembered it being called 'Lethargy', and it pretty much functioned as it sounded.

He produced some sort of gas or spore or whatever from his body that had the effect of making people drowsy and lose all energy and motivation. In essence he made people lethargic to an extreme... and it was a useful Quirk, especially against Villains, which surely accounted for the fairly steady popularity he had. And Killjoy was by no means as popular as Animal Spirit was, but he was popular enough here in Heiku to have his own little fanbase. And as far as she was aware, his general approval with the public and the police was pretty stellar for the world of Pro Heroes.

Unlike her, he was fairly well-liked by everyone.

"Ah, yeah, sorry I can't look your way..." Spirit mumbled in reply, "... As for help? I don't think so, I'm pretty sure Anima and I can handle this. So thanks, but I think we're good. You'll probably be more useful with the pileup over there." She murmured, shrugging her shoulders only slightly, and even that little bit was enough to make the car groan again.

"Anima... Your Intern, I assume?" Killjoy asked evenly,

"Yep."

"Well then, I suppose if you feel you have everything in hoof, I'll help somewhere else." He told her evenly, and she grimaced slightly at the sort-of joke.

 _Haha, very funny... Hoof cause I have hooves... Doesn't really help for being funny when your voice is robotic as can be, ya know._

"Don't hesitate to call if you do need help though, Animal Spirit." Killjoy went on, polite as ever it seemed.

"Will do." she mumbled, her ears angling with the sound of his footsteps as he headed away.

 _... Such a formal guy... A little odd too..._

Her ears swiveled back when she heard Koda's footsteps getting closer, and followed by many more... _Smaller ones...?_

 _Huh_

"Find who you were looking for, Anima?" Spirit asked once she figured he was close enough,

"Y-yes..!" Came the quick, slightly nervous answer. "C-come on friends, I need you to chew the wires here and... And here. Be careful please...!"

 _Chew the wires?_

Spirit took in a deep breath, the scent of moisture, sewage, fur, dust, and other bits of old food flooding her nose- a telltale conglomeration of scents that she recognized near immediately as _rat._

Spirit's ears fell back against her head slightly, remaining fixed in her place and her neck aching more with every passing moment as she felt tiny footfalls begin vibrating up to her through the concrete. The sound of said tiny footfalls as heavy on her ears as the scent was. And though she couldn't see them, the intensity of the scents and the faint, yet consistent sensation of warm bodies brushing passed her legs and feet was enough to tell her there was quite a few of the little things- Anima's little 'friends'. Who were called to help, and chew wires... which admittedly was not a terrible plan.

Rat's have sharp teeth, and they have been known to chew through a multitude of things, wires especially... metal too, sometimes. And there was no shortage of the creatures down in the sewers and the darker, less frequented places of the city.

Spirit let out a small breath, pushing her weight up against the car a little more- just to steady it that extra little bit- and the let herself lean against it enough she and the lump of metal were in some semblance of equilibrium with one another.

 _... my neck is gonna be sore after this..._

Her ears flattened against her head a a sharp stab of pain raced through her side, before fading out into a heavy, hot throb that wouldn't let up.

 _... damn it... I hope I didn't pull any stitches or anything... I was not anticipating tackling a 3-ton car today..._

She heard the unmistakable sound of gnawing teeth and claws scratching against metal and whatnot- and then the snapping of said wire, and the shifting of metal. The car groaned a little underneath her, and she felt it tremble a bit as the passenger side door loosened- though Koda's hands on it kept it from jerking loose right away. After a few more moments, Spirit felt the weight of the car lessen a little in tandem with the door being released from it's hinges and remaining wires. The heavy metal piece remained in Koda's hands for only a few moments as he quickly pulled it away and lowered it to the ground as gracefully as he could manage, moving it from blocking the space and careful not to crush any of the dozen or so little rodents milling around his feet (and Spirit's) and the wreck itself.

"I-i've gotten the door off, Spirit-Sensei...!" Koda announced quickly, his head tilting up toward her. "A-and the car seems to be holding... I'm going to try and bend the frame, and clear a path to get to the man in the car... o-okay?"

"Got it." Spirit replied with ease, her tone nothing but calm and Koda's eyes shined at how quickly she relented to his plan. And how quickly (and almost how thoughtlessly) she gave her permission to go ahead. She didn't even seem to pause.

He only asked for her permission and approval because he felt he should, though Spirit didn't really feel the need to have him do so. Koda seemed to have a pretty clear idea of what he needed to do, and she'd already warned him to be careful and what to watch out for- and he had thus far always taken her directions and warnings to heart, so she wasn't all that worried. He would be careful, and he'd already shown he could make decisions and come up with a plan without having to be directed every step of the way... his intervention with the street and the pigeons yesterday had been proof enough of that, even discounting his decision to call the rats for help with this.

She supposed it was a little show of respect he did ask though, and didn't just move ahead without looping her in... _eh, he's not the sort of kid that would do that though, so maybe I'm not so surprised he asked me if it was okay or not._

Koda paused for a moment, staring up at Animal Spirit and her face that he couldn't see, awed for a few seconds, before a faint smile appeared on his face and he nodded firmly, and looked away.

"Sir, I'm going to try and clear a path to you now..! Please tell me right away if you think the car is moving too much, or you're in pain..!" Koda told the man in the car quickly, the soft and uneasy tenor of his voice fading slightly to something more firm and more confident. "My friends are going to come toward you, and try and clear away some of the debris blocking the way..! Please don't be scared of them, they won't harm you..!"

"... e..eh... okay kid... I'll let you know..." The man replied, a little uncertainly, "... they ain't gonna crawl all over me, right...?"

"... I'm sorry sir, but they might have to. They'll be able to chew through the fabric of the seatbelt, so you can get out." Koda explained quickly, Spirit heard the man let out a sigh.

"... okay... got it... just... I wanna get out sooner rather than later, so I'll have to suck it up I guess..."

"I will get you out as soon as I can sir, I promise..!"

Spirit let out a small breath at that, her lips pulling a little in the rhino equivalent of a smile.

 _Well Anima seems to have gotten a little more confident now... good. He's learning pretty fast, huh?_

She listened to the sound of glass and metal moving, coupled with the gnawing of the rats and their feet across the roof of the car. She focused her attention on that and the feel of the car under her hold, wary of it beginning to slip or bend underneath her as the extra weight of the rats got added on, and Koda started in trying to move some of the bigger pieces of debris his friends could not. Though even with all the movement and whatnot, she didn't feel the car taking any turns for the worse, and after a few minutes she heard the shifting of debris stop and felt the weight in the car get heavier- Koda leaning against the edge of it and looking in as far as he dared without putting too much strain on the car, and Animal Spirit's neck.

"... alright sir, I have a path cleared for you. My friends are gonna start getting the seatbelt loose, please do your best to keep yourself steady as it comes undone." Koda instructed softly, there was a grunt from the man.

"... gotcha kid. Ready when you are.."

Spirit pushed her horn up against the frame a bit more, ready for the inevitably large shift that would come once the man's seatbelt was no longer holding him hostage in midair and hanging upside down.

All of the rats but three moved back out of the car, huddling up together off to the side of Koda and watching with intent, beady black eyes as their companions left in the car began to chew away at the fabric of the seatbelt. They were perched and holding to the armrests of the man's chair to keep themselves aloft, and moving carefully as they began to bite away at the section of the seatbelt near to the buckle that was jammed.

One of Spirit's ears swiveled right, momentarily distracted by the sound of approaching sirens, and faintly aware of the flash of red and white in the corner of her eye.

 _Paramedics are finally here then... Police too_

Her attention snapped back to below her when the car bounced, the sound of the seatbelt recoiling as the tension got released and the man's full weight hit the roof of the car. There was an audible thud, and a groan from the man- and Koda sucked in a sharp breath of air.

"S-sir, are you alright..?!" Koda asked quickly,

"... Y... Yeah... Sorry... Guess I can't hold my own weight... I'm fine though... Just gotta..." He muttered, sounding a little annoyed, though only with himself. He huffed, grunting again as he shifted, trying to wriggle out of the awkward position he was in and get his legs down to the floor. Spirit grumbled internally, her eyes falling shut and holding her breath as she felt the car shake underneath her and let out a groan under the sudden movement and shift in weight.

 _... Shit..._

"... Might wanna hurry Anima, the car is hating all the moving around..." Spirit murmured quickly, low enough only the boy would hear her words and not the guy in the car- you know, so he wouldn't freak out. Koda nodded stiffly, his eyes scanning the car and grimacing at the way it was shaking and making noise.

"... Sir, please move as carefully as you can...!" Koda instructed next, "... When you manage to get down all the way, please try and grab my hand, and I will help you out...!"

"... Kay..."

There were a few more tense moments of the man struggling to get all the way down from the seat, even desire the lack of a seatbelt- and all the while Spirit held her breath, hyper aware of every jump and jostle and metallic shift and grind of the car she was holding up off the ground.

 _... Crap... Crap... Please don't break, please don't fall... Come on..._

The movement ceased for a moment with one last decisive thud, the man panting slightly from the effort of getting down onto the roof of the car and adjusting so he could potentially begin to crawl toward the exit. The roof caved in under his weight, and Spirit felt the lip of the frame her horn was tucked in under bend and give way a little- forcing her to lift her head higher to keep it in the same position it had been in.

Koda leaned into the car, his hand stretching toward the man and flinching a little when the portion of the car he leaned against bent under his weight. He heard Animal Spirit let out a grumble above him and his heart fluttered a bit, urgency kicking in higher.

His hand folded around the man's, immediately pulling back as hard as he could and still gentle enough not to cause harm. The man puffed a little as his body began to slide over the roof and toward the exit, his feet pushing to help himself along even as Koda pulled him.

The frame bent again under her hold, and she craned her already aching neck higher. The car shuddered, constantly creaking and letting out noise now.

 _... Tch..._

The man was at the edge of the car, in the opening Koda and his friends had made as the young boy quickly adjusted his hold on the man's hand and shifted to grab hold of his shoulders, and help pull him the rest of the way out of the car.

Spirit felt the frame bend further against her, the tension of her hold slackening as she hissed- keenly aware of it and the possibility of her feet around both Koda and the man... You know, in case she had to-

There was an audible snap as the portion of the frame Spirit had her horn curled under suddenly broke off from the rest of the car- bending further toward as the rest of the car started to fall.

 _Shit!_

Koda let out a startled yelp and the man did too, the younger male pulling a bit rougher at his shoulders and sending the both of them stumbling backwards from the car. Spirit reacted in the same instant Koda did, grunting as she quickly ducked her head and smashed her weight into the car, _hard._

Doing so bent the frame in more, but she saved it hitting to the ground right away, and then pushed it forward a foot or two in the same instant, forcing her to take a few steps forward to keep up with it and still stay standing. There was a terrible sound of the metal scratching against the concrete, and glass clattered against the ground underneath her, crunching as she stepped over it- but even that unpleasant sensation under her hooves was drowned by the sudden sharp stab of pain running through both her side, and her forehead.

The sudden bout of movement slammed to a halt in the next instant though, pausing for a moment as the car slumped against the concrete further and collapsed against the roof almost completely, crushing the inside. Spirit's attention angled backward, aware of the sound of Koda and the man's breathing, but little else than that. She huffed and dislodged her horn from the mess of metal and whatever, shaking herself a little and turning to look back at them- and now finally able to actually see them.

"You two alright?" She asked, her eyes scanning Koda and the man where they were sitting on the ground about three feet behind her, slightly breathless and reeling- but they looked fine. Koda had managed to get the man all the way out of the car a few seconds before it gave out, and Spirit pushing it away saved them possibly getting crushed by it as it folded in on itself. Koda's little rodent friends had scurried back a bit further, startled by the sudden movement of the car, but they didn't leave entirely.

They all looked up at her, wide-eyed and quiet, her massive shadow falling over them as she blotted out the rays of the sun for a few seconds. And with the sheer black of her skin and coat, and the glare provided by the sun, she seemed little more than an eerie, formless pitch black shadow in air.

Koda gulped a little, but he quickly shook himself out and nodded at her, his eyes darting from the Pro and toward the man who's shoulders he was still holding on to. "I-i think so..." He murmured, scanning the man for injuries quickly.

"...uh... yeah..." The man mumbled, the shock wearing off a little as he looked down at his bruised and slightly bloody hands.

Spirit's shadow over them dissipated as her body got swept up in a black-red haze, and her form quickly reformed itself into that of her human one. She stepped lightly across the trail of glass she had left behind and toward the pair, taking a knee in front of them and her crimson gaze taking in an account of the cuts and bruises along the man's arms, and the bits of blood staining his pants around his right leg. Her hands reached forward as she gently moved the tattered fabric away, and she sighed internally at the small gash cut into the side of the man's calf... it wasn't too deep, though she was sure it stung pretty bad.

Though overall the guy didn't look like he had any broken bones, and he wasn't bleeding heavily from anywhere she could see. Spare the dozen or so cuts and nicks littering his person, and especially so on his hands- the worst bits were that one on the leg, and the dark bruising already forming from where the seat-belt had rammed into him. And granted his car had _flipped_ and _rolled_ several times, before promptly slamming into a several ton rhino- he was pretty well off, and very lucky he wasn't in any worse condition.

Spirit's eyes moved from her work and up, passing the man and Koda by as she spotted some of the ambulances nearby, and the multitude of people darting back and forth. She turned from that and looked over her shoulder a bit, looking out to the rest of the wreck (what little she could see of it from her angle) and the commotion there.

She hummed a bit under her breath and her hand moved behind her, tugging at the zipper of the bag strapped to her back and digging inside of it. "Alright, I'm gonna wrap this up for you, and then Anima will help you over to the medics." Spirit announced lightly, her hand in her bag closing around what she was looking for, and her other gesturing toward the wound on the man's leg. Said dude looked up at her instantly, and nodded in understanding as Anima did the same- his eyes moving toward Spirit, and then immediately his face fell as he sucked in a small, sharp breath of air.

Spirit didn't notice it though, her eyes fell on the two rolls of bandages she pulled out from her bag, looking them over for little more than a second- before replacing the one tied with a red rubber band back in her bag.

"S-Spirit-Sensei, you're bleeding...!" Koda stammered quickly as she started to unroll the bandages she had kept out, and she paused a bit, blinking in surprise as she glanced up to him, and then felt her heart sink.

 _Crap, did I really pull the stitches...?_

Koda's hands were gesturing quickly though, and they were toward her _face_ \- so she instinctively brought a hand up and toward it, her fingers meeting sticky liquid dripping down from a small cut on the left side of her forehead, nearly hidden entirely by her bangs, if not for the trail of blood. She pulled her hand back and blinked at the bit of scarlet left behind, before letting out a small sigh and drawing the back of her hand across her face, wiping away the blood.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a scratch." She assured easily, casting the clearly nervous boy a small smile and shrugging her shoulders a bit. "That's what I get for headbutting a car... but really, I'm fine." She murmured, and he grimaced a bit, but nodded anyway. She looked from him and back toward the man, her attention falling on the wound and the bandages as she quickly wrapped it up- she heard the man stifle a wince.

"... thank you both." the man murmured softly once Spirit was done and she reached around to put the bandages back in her bag. Spirit nodded to the words with ease, and Koda did too, though he looked nervous with the show of gratitude.

"Of course." Spirit hummed, pushing herself up onto her feet and waiting patiently as Koda got to his, and helped the man up too. The young boy pulled the man's arm over his shoulder, stooping slightly from the height difference, but he didn't seem to have any trouble with the weight. Spirit glanced sideways toward the small group of rats huddled up near to them, their eyes watching Koda intently.

 _It was a good idea, calling them_

She felt her stomach growl though, and the urge to catch and pounce and eat rose up in the base of her core, and she frowned.

 _... ugh, stop it._

She followed closely as Anima helped the man over to one of the ambulances, handing him off as a paramedic approached them and took over as the man's support. The man called one last thank you over his shoulder as he was lead away, and Koda's hand waved a little, his eyes lingering on their backs, before snapping to attention again and turning toward Animal Spirit.

There were dozens of people darting around, calling out orders, trying to help. The police were busy on barricades and setting up support areas with some of the Pros that arrived, and the rescue personnel were already hard at work trying to de-tangle the mess of cars and wreckage. From the bits of chatter she could catch, and the frantic movement of the medical personnel, she guessed there was at least one person with more serious injuries than the guy they'd just pulled out... she sighed.

 _... what a mess... didn't I ask for_ _ **no**_ _hell?_

 _Yeah yeah, the world says fuck me_

"... what now, Spirit-Sensei?" Koda asked slowly, and she glanced his way, a small lull coming in for a moment.

"We'll help where we can." She murmured with ease, and he nodded. "Let's see if any of the others need us, and if your little friends can be of use again..."

"R-Right..."

"... good call, by the way." She added and he blinked in surprise, she tilted her head toward the congregation of rats still waiting nearby. "Calling them was a good idea, they're small enough to get in to tight spaces, and their teeth are a bonus. They're a good support for a situation like this." He blushed a little, nodding.

"O-oh... r...right..." He mumbled, and Spirit smiled faintly.

"Good job on keeping your cool too." She added in, he looked away sheepishly.

"... i... I didn't... I froze..." He mumbled, "... when the car was coming toward us... I couldn't even think... and y.. you... you reacted so fast... and after I just..."

"You did just fine." Spirit cut him off. "It was a scary situation, its natural to freeze like that- especially when this is your first accident." She explained, "And you calmed down quickly after that, and took control of the situation. You were collected and confident, and you got that guy out of the car and kept him calm too. You handled a very stressful situation well. I doubt most kids your age would have managed to calm down as as quickly as you did... Let alone come up with a good plan on how to get the guy out of there." His eyes moved up from the ground and toward her slowly, looking a little unsure with the words and the... the praise.

Was she saying all of that to just make him feel better...? Or did she... mean it...? He didn't feel like he'd done anything special, or handled it as well as she said... he had been so nervous the whole time it had taken everything in him to just keep talking and focused.

"You gotta give yourself a little credit. This is your first internship, it's okay to be scared and nervous- and no one expects you to be perfect. You are here to learn, after all." She hummed, "But you are very good under pressure, and you are good at keeping a level head. Have a little faith in yourself, alright?" He stared a few seconds, his eyes glittering and his cheeks flushed, before he glanced down at his hands and nodded.

"... I... I'll do my best...!" He said in a hushed tone, and Spirit nodded. Her hands fell on her hips, before she cringed slightly and brought them back off again- bumping against the wound in her side without thinking about it, and hating herself for it. She bit back at the wince she nearly let slip, before sighing internally and dropping her hands, determined to shake it off and ignore the incessant throbbing pain.

 _... oh I am gonna be so sore tonight... damn it_

"Cool, now let's see where we can lend a hand..."

"Y-yes, Spirit-Sensei...!"

* * *

 **Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it wasn't too exciting! (And is lacking a certain winged someone...)**

 **Assuredly there will be more Hawks and Spirit in the next chapter! So look forward to it!**

 **Thank you so very much for reading!**

 **Please Follow, Fav, and Review if ya can! Thanks!**


	14. Chapter 14- Catch

**Chapter 14**

 **Catch**

 **.:+:.**

 _... I'm a fool..._

 **.:+:.**

 _"... Animal Spirit and her UA Intern- Anima- were hot on the scene for a five car crash in Heiku today! Following one of the cars making an illegal right turn into oncoming traffic, two cars collided head on and slid into the adjacent lane- hitting three other cars and causing several of them to roll. There were no pedestrian injuries reported- though one car did roll into the sidewalk parallel to the street, and nearly rolled out into a street perpendicular."_

 _"Animal Spirit stopped the car from entering the next street, and kept the overturned vehicle steady while her Intern worked to pull the driver from the wreckage. The driver of that car sustained minimal injuries, and most of other passengers managed to get away with only minor and mild injuries. The driver of the vehicle that caused the crash is in serious condition- reportedly she was in a frantic state and lost a lot of blood. Pro Hero Killjoy arrived on scene and was able to calm her down, and allow rescue personnel to safely remove her from the vehicle without causing further harm."_

 _"The street in question has been opened up again, and regular traffic has resumed. It is fortunate there were so few injuries. And thank you to all those who helped in rescue and cleanup efforts."_

 **.:+:.**

"... I'm home." Koda mumbled quietly, sliding the door to his house open and stepping inside delicately. He paused and started to pull his boots off, his hand leaning against the wall for support and letting out a small sigh.

It was dark outside already, and he felt exhausted from the day. Walking around as much as he and Animal Spirit did on Patrol was tiring in itself, but with the added on stress and work with the wreckage he felt a little dead on his feet. And his emotions were a little fried too...

 _... It was... Cool though... Being able to help out._

 _And Animal Spirit was amazing... I still can't believe how fast she acted with the car, and how calm she was... She's good at everything...!_

He bit the inside of his cheek, pulling his last boot off and blushing a little when his thoughts flashed to her praises and assurances.

 _... She's so nice... I'm not sure I deserve all of it..._

... though given tomorrow he was set to meet her at Bakanei Park (instead of meeting up directly at the Train Station as he had the last two days...), and the entirety of their day was set to be spent on Battle and Combat training- maybe he'd find her a little less nice... oh he really hoped she was going to go easy on him...!

"Koda!"

He jumped, head snapping up and his heart racing at the very loud voice shouting his name. His mother popped up around the corner at full speed, her arms open wide and dashing up to him too quickly for him to even react. He was wrapped tightly up in her arms the next second, his arms pinned at his sides and unable to move as she rocked him back and forth in her grasp. She snuggled her cheek up against his, fervently so, and he blinked several times in surprise and uncertainty- and also embarrassment.

"Oh Koda sweetie! You were on the news today!" She said loudly, and he blushed a little at it, his stomach fluttering. "I saw the street camera footage on the news! Oh my baby, that car almost crushed you!"

He stiffened a little, biting the inside of his cheek at the thought. He shook his head at himself and gently forced his mom to release him a little, putting some distance between them as he looked up at her. His eyes glittered as he saw the small tears pecking at the corners of his mother's eyes.

"I-i'm fine, mom...!" He assured her quickly, "R-really! I didn't get hurt or anything... S-Spirit-Sensei made sure the car couldn't run into us...!" His mom took in a deep breath and nodded a little, offering up a small smile in return.

"I'm so glad you're okay...!" She hummed, "I am very grateful that Animal Spirit was so quick to protect you...! She must really be doing her best for this Internship..!"

"S-Spirit-Sensei is a great Pro Hero... She'd do her best to protect anybody, regardless if they were her Intern or not...!" He said quickly, and his mother nodded again, smiling a bit more.

"I know, I'm just very happy you seem to be having a good time with her." She replied with ease, and Koda blinked in surprise. His mother's hands moved up as she cuddled his cheeks, smiling wider and hummed. "You were so excited when you came home yesterday! I know you were so nervous about meeting one of your favorite Heroes! But you had a good day!" Koda blushed and little and glanced away, his mother smiled more at the reaction. "Did you have a good day today too? You were so brave and confident, helping with all those poor people!" She hummed, her hands leaving his cheeks as she dug in the pocket of the apron she was wearing and quickly produced a photo- his face went red.

"You are such a handsome boy! I was so proud to see you on the TV, saving people and looking after them!"

He went stiff as a board, scarlet in the face and his heart pounding as he lay eyes on the picture- him in his Hero Costume and standing beside Animal Spirit, the Pro smiling lightly as she waved a hand at the camera and her other hand resting on his shoulder. He was staring at the camera itself, nearly as stiff as he was now, and noticeably nervous and flushed.

He knew immediately what the photo was; after the last of the people from the crash site had been seen by the paramedics and the cleanup was starting, some of the media and press had already set up and were immediately looking for something to shoot... and more than anything they wanted a little time with that Pro Hero who had gone head to head with Stain, and who was now out and about with a UA Intern.

Animal Spirit had allotted a few minutes for dealing with all of that, and she'd answered a few questions, all polite and formal like he was used to seeing from her whenever she was on TV or whatever (which was rare...). He'd not actually said anything himself, he'd mostly done his best to stay behind Spirit and out of total view and focus (which was hard, given he was bigger than she was). When he was pressed for something he'd just nodded and averted his eyes, much too nervous and embarrassed with the attention to act like he probably should have.

He'd been doing his best to be inconspicuous as possible when suddenly Animal Spirit stepped back a pace to get herself level with him. He hadn't been sure why she did so, and he was reeling even more when she patted his shoulder gently with a hand, their eyes matched for half a second, before she looked ahead and her other hand raised in a wave. His eyes followed where she was looking and immediately found a camera- and he froze, his face feeling like it was on fire.

He knew the photo his mother was holding was from that same camera, and his face flushed further- it couldn't have been up on the internet for more than an hour, and she'd already found and had it printed!

"M-mom...!" He stammered, she smiled even more.

"It's such a good picture! You and one of your favorite Heroes- oh it's just perfect!" She bummed brightly, holding the photo up and looking it over for what must have been the millionth time.

"I'm going to frame this one!"

Kids held his face in his hands and nearly steaming from the head. He scrunched his eyes closed, all frantic nervousness and energy and sheer and utter embarrassment.

 _...a...ah...!_

"Anima! My little boy is becoming a Hero!"

 **.:+:.**

She grimaced, her red eyes narrowed at the pill bottle in hand and swallowing slightly as she just sat there and stared at it. Her feet hung off the edge of the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of black pants and a bra, her button-up shirt on the bed beside her, vest and tie too. Her auburn hair fell around her shoulders loosely, damp from the shower she had taken not a few minutes before- and the one that had _not_ dulled down the throbbing in her her head nor her side, like she had hoped.

Since the whole deal with the crashes, and wrestling with a car, her body had hurt from the impact- her head especially- but her side felt like it was on _fire._

She'd agitated the stab wound she'd gotten from Stain, and enough so the skin was swollen and red and the stitches were tugging quite painfully... Though lucky her, they hadn't actually pulled even through all the mess from earlier.

But she had hoped time would make the hot throbbing pain radiating from it go away- but no.

So then she hoped a shower would lessen it, and help with her headache and aching neck... But again, no.

 _...Damn it..._

She had to be at the Club soon, and she didn't want to go. Grant you she usually didn't want to be there, and certainly not during busy hours- but even less so now, the thought of working and moving around fulfilling orders while she felt like her torso was burning...

 _... But I don't have a choice, I have to go._

 _It just sucks_

Of course she had to go, and she couldn't act like she was in pain or that anything was wrong while she was there. That would cause too much interest, and the girls would question it, and she couldn't very well explain 'oh, I just jostled this stab wound I got from the Hero Killer a little too much today when I decided to wrestle with a car. No big deal.'.

And barring the truth, she didn't think she could manage a good enough lie- so she had to fake it, and fake it good.

 _Pretend like always... you'd think I was a Pro at that by now..._

And so she was here, dreading going to work at the club and the attention of all the people and the girls. And worst of all, she dreaded what intensity her headache was going to reach in that smoke-filled and sweat-stinking building.

Honestly she just wanted to stay in bed and go to sleep... _But again, I can't._

So that lead to this- the pain pills she got from the Hospital a week back, and the ones she had only taken maybe twice.

She hated pills, and medicine of any sort. They always made her feel off, drowsy or unfocused or even just irritable- and she was usually irritable enough on her own without bumping it up with drugs... And then of course there was also that other thing they did- fucking with her already shitty sleep-schedule and habits.

But she hadn't a choice. If she was gonna work all night without letting slip any sign of pain or whatever, she couldn't be feeling it as badly as she was right now. She needed it to dull down to something manageable, and this was the only way that was gonna work.

She popped the cap off and shook two tablets into her palm, sighing.

 _Hopefully by tomorrow I'll feel better... I'll need to, if Training with Koda is gonna actually go well._

 _... So hey, whatever you are that decided a pileup was the best way to end patrol... Maybe let my shift at the bar be easy today?_

 _... Please...?_

 **.:+:.**

"Ah?! Kage what happened to your face?!"

Spirit let out an exasperated sigh, her head slowly turning from watching Hana up on the stage. She was leaning against the wall of the hallway that lead to the dressing rooms with her shoulder, arms crossed over her chest and quiet as she remained there. Her tired 'blue' eyes having a hard time really staying focused on Hana and her dance around the pole at all.

At current she was on a small ten minute break, one of the few she was allowed and could utilize in all the bustle and business... And yes, it was busy as hell.

The last four hours had been a terrible blur, her attention never quite able to settle nor focus, and exhaustion and weariness weighing her down all the heavier as time ticked by. As she anticipated, the pain pills had made her feel awful and drowsy to an extreme... But hey, the pain was a dull throb now, and entirely bearable. So that was a plus, yeah..?

Either way, working and feeling like she was had been hell, and she felt her strength and will to keep going fading fast. And worse still, her movements were getting sloppy too- which didn't really mix well when working with tons of glasses and liqueur bottles. She'd a few times already spilled things, and even dropped a glass about an hour ago, which she then had to clean up and grumbled all the while doing it.

Thankfully though she was so tired she hadn't the energy to be very irritable, and so she wasn't as agitated as she had been yesterday.

Though another downside to that was she couldn't stay focused on Okita very well through all of this, and she had been trying to. The poor girl seemed just as nervous today as she had the day before, and Spirit saw no indication that would change anytime soon.

Oh, and the headache. It was a _million_ times worse...

 _... Redirecting though- my face._

Spirit turned her head a little and caught sight of the owner of that voice and the very loud question she had asked. Jishi was approaching her and the hallway, a bag on her shoulder and not yet dressed for work- naturally, as her shift wasn't due to start for another twenty minutes or so. And of course Jishi asked about it- that cut on her forehead she'd earned from the car.

Why they were all so hyper-aware of that one single, _tiny_ little cut, she had no idea. Especially since it was hardly it could hardly even be seen under her bangs... But they had all noticed it near the instant she arrived, both the girls and the bouncers _and_ the customers. But it was the girls who were so persistent on asking about it, and making much too big a deal over it.

 _I should have tried to cover it up with makeup or something... But I didn't even think about it_

She let out another, silent sigh as Jishi stopped right in front of her, hands on her hips and leaning in a bit as her orange eyes locked to said cut. "So? What happened to you?" Jishi pressed, Spirit grumbled under her breath.

"You act like it's huge or something." She muttered and Jishi huffed,

"No, but I do wanna know what happened." She replied with ease, "I have to make sure you aren't going out and getting in trouble or anything, you know." Spirit quirked a brow at that,

"Getting into trouble?" she echoed, Jishi nodded quite curtly.

"Yes! Last thing we need is you getting into a fight with someone- worst of all one of the customers! Even on off hours!" She said quickly and Spirit blinked.

 _... Does she really think I'd start a fight with one of the men in here...?_

 _... Well... I might if they keep being all handsy- but not the point!_

"... I don't go picking fights ya know." Spirit muttered flatly, Jishi simply waved her hand as is she was waving the comment off.

"Pick them or not, I can definitely see you getting in a scuffle with someone." Jishi commented, "And I just wanna make sure you're not going up against people who'll really hurt you! I know you're tough Kage, but you do need to know your limits! As tough as you are, you can't risk going against just anybody! You aren't a fighting specialist or anything, and a lot of these guys are really bigger than you! You probably wouldn't stand a chance!" Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes narrowing to slits and a large portion of her exhaustion suddenly replaced by agitation.

 _I'm sorry, what?_

 _She thinks I'm some sort of weakling!_

 _I'm plenty capable of holding my own, damn it! And against all sorts of people! I fucking went head to head with the bloody fucking Hero Killer for fuck's sake!_

 _I'm a Pro Hero, of course I can fucking fight! And hell if some run of the mill asshole hanging around a strip club is gonna take me on and win! I could beat the ass of anyone here if I wanted to! Even if they are bigger than me, they wouldn't stand a chance!_

Of course Jishi and everyone else here didn't know she was in fact Animal Spirit, or a Pro Hero at all- and usually the girls assuming she was... Was a _civilian_ or something didn't bother her at all. But right then it hit a nerve, and her teeth ground together a bit.

 _Don't be pissy, she doesn't know- she can't know either, so just let it go..._

She forced herself a hot, quiet breath and offered up a smile that was a little too sickly-sweet, not that Jishi noticed.

"I wouldn't pick a fight I couldn't handle." Spirit replied lightly, though her tone had an edge to it she couldn't help- and again, Jishi seemed as oblivious as ever to Spirit's bubbling agitation. "Not that I'm going around picking fights mind you... This is me accidentally bumping into the corner of the top of my dresser when I was putting clothes away." Spirit explained with a small gesture toward her forehead, the same lie and story she had told earlier on, rolling off her tongue like it was nothing. Jishi's eyes widened, wincing slightly at the thought.

"Ooh, oww." she mumbled, "Well, I'm glad it was nothing serious after all- though you should be more careful, Kage!" Spirit smiled still, though more agitation flared at the scolding tone that worked it's way into Jishi's voice.

 _What, am I someone who needs to be looked after like a child now? Like I can't take care of myself?_

 _That's what she's making it sound like... You know, watching me to make sure I don't start fights, warning me to be careful, telling me to watch my limits-_

 _... Tch... I'm not a child, damn it. I can take care of myself just fine... Grahh...!_

 _Be nice, Spirit._

"... Right, I'll try, Jishi."

 **.:+:.**

 _Pitch_

 _It looked like tar splattered against the floor... Sticky and warm and so, terribly, utterly pitch black._

 _But it didn't smell like tar, or oil, or pitch or anything... It didn't smell... It smelled like rot, decomposition... Death_

 _Death and metal... Decay and blood_

 _Dark, sticky, rotted, black blood_

 _The world was being consumed by an unending ebony wave, contorted, twisted hands and fingers made of shadow reaching out toward her, hungry, cruel._

 _They were screaming, their voices disjointed, anguished... terrified._

 _Everything was getting swallowed up_

 **.:+:.**

She jerked up off the bed, heart racing painfully in her chest and her body sticky from the sheen of sweat over her skin. She sucked in several short, shuddering gasps of air, her red eyes glittering in the dim of the room and body immediately tense and on high alert... _Panicked_.

She glanced every which way in quick succession, scanning the confines of the small corner of the apartment allocated for her 'room' and what little she could see beyond the divider ahead. But everything was so dark in her little underground home that she could scarcely see a few inches passed that divider, but her eyes didn't stop searching even when it was futile.

Her head snapped up, her neck craning and a cold drop of sweat falling down her spine as her red eyes locked with the roof overhead. Holding her breath against the lurking fear that it wouldn't be-

... it... it was just the roof, dark, smooth, empty. Nothing there that... shouldn't be...

The breath she was holding came out ragged and shuddering, a bit of sweat falling down her cheek and trailing along her jaw as she kept her head tilted back a few minutes more, before slowly letting it drop, her eyes falling to her hands... Her _shaking_ hands, pale and thin in the dim of the room and hovering above her lap as her body hunched in on itself just a little, every inch of her, shaking, trembling, panting.

She swallowed, hard, her quivering fingers balling into fists as she frowned, her lips curling and letting out a low growl.

 _I haven't... Not in so long... I... Buried it... But... Now..._

 _... Damn it... This is what happens when I take drugs or pills or anything... They... The dreams come back_

Her crimson eyes shone in the dark, glittering, angry and nearly glowing... But also so very, very haunted.

"... Fuck..."

 **.:+:.**

"Spirit-Sensei...!"

Spirit looked up, her immediate attention caught by the soft voice somewhere behind her and diverted from having been staring at a flock of birds in a nearby tree (and internally suppressing the urge to hunt them...).

She turned slightly, her arms crossed over her chest and expressionless, and standing in the center of a grassy clearing surrounded by a small grove of trees. This was a far corner in the vastness of what Bakanei Park was- about 150 acres of parkland set on the edge of Heiku, and filled with a large number of groves, paths, flower gardens, sitting areas, a few skateparks and small recreational buildings. And even a small man-made lake in the eastern corner to which was fed a stream that stretched out in several directions along the whole of the area, and in one place dumped out into the ocean where Heiku bordered the coast. Oh, and one sand garden on the southern side placed in a large dome made entirely of glass... and to which were a few memorials for some of the most famous (and long since dead) Pro Heroes and whatever from the early days... aaand a small rock-structure and habitat that had been built up for the local bat population.

Yeah, long story short- this park was massive, and filled with a massive amount of things. One almost forgot it was in the middle of the cities of Heiku and Hosu. It was like a whole other world. Spirit had been here several times, since assigning herself Heiku for her Pro Hero duties, and she had taken time to explore the whole park. And she had seen a lot of it, but she was also sure she hadn't discovered every nook and cranny there was... she sort of doubted anyone actually had.

But anyway, this was one of the most isolated parts of the whole park, and it was hidden in the middle of a rather thick grove. So she'd picked it for their training for the day, so they were out of the way of anyone in the actual park, and they didn't have draw a crowd or any looky-loos.

She'd actually been there since 6 something this morning, following having woken up at around 4ish because of that _damned dream-_

 _Tch... don't think about it_

\- she hadn't been able to just... settle, after that, and she'd been a bit antsy. So, she left home and came here and walked around, scouted her area of choice, and poured her focus into what she planned to do with the training and whatnot. She felt the exhaustion from the lack of sleep and the lingering drowsiness from the pain pills still lurking, but she forced all of it away. She had to be focused and on top of things, and she had to keep a clear head if any of this training was gonna go well, or even be some semblance of useful for Anima.

... small mercy the throbbing in her side had dulled again, and had yet to flare again, even after jolting awake-

 _-Fucking hell, again. Stop._

Upon turning she spotted Anima in full Hero garb quickly walking out of the trees and across the clearing toward her, at his side two squirrels and a pink box wrapped in a bow(?) in his hands.

She offered up a small smile as she caught his eyes and waved a hand at him, turning all the way around as she waited for him to reach her.

"Good morning." She hummed lightly, and he returned her smile with one of his own as he stopped in front of her, the squirrels quickly climbing up his clothes and settling on either shoulder. And the young boy didn't even blink at it, and neither did Spirit... at this point she was getting used to him just having random animals all over him at all times of the day.

"Good morning..!" He replied quietly, forgoing sign language for the moment and relenting to using his voice, given his hands were full with the box.

"You didn't have any problem finding this spot I hope?" Spirit hummed and he shook his head,

"No..! The directions you gave me yesterday were really helpful...! Plus these two were happy to bring me to you when I arrived..!" He replied with ease, smiling still as he tilted his head either way to the creatures on his shoulders. Spirit nodded slightly,

"Good." She murmured, "You ready for today?"

"Y-yes..! I am excited to learn all I can from you..!" Anima replied quickly, a small bit of nervousness trickling into his voice, but he looked determined none-the-less. She smiled a bit more, her eyes flashing.

"Great." She chuckled, her head tilting though as she gestured toward the box in hand, and then her hands fell on her hips lightly. "Though I am wondering what you have there?" She commented and he blinked, looking a little surprised, before jumping and his face flushed quite a bit, suddenly looking very... embarrassed?

He looked away from her, face red and fidgety as he stumbled for his voice for a few seconds.

"O-oh, uhm... well my... my mother, she... she saw the news yesterday, about the crash..." Anima started nervously, and Spirit blinked. "... a..and how you stopped that car, and she... she was really happy that you stopped it... a-and that you took me as an Intern, and you're being so nice to me... And helping me with learning to be a Pro Hero...!" He flushed further and closed his eyes, moving his hands forward toward her with the box in them, and her eyes dropped to it. "S-She wanted to thank you for what you've been doing...! B-but since she can't do it in person, she made these for you, as a thank you... a.. and a gift...!" He announced quickly, and Spirit stiffened in surprise, her eyes widening slightly as her eyes locked with the pink box, and subsequently froze.

 _... a... what...?_

Her hands lift off her hips in uncertainty, her shoulders sagging and her posture wilting too as her mind stalled. She just stared, her mind having a hard time coming to terms with the explanation and... Well, what it meant.

 _... Did he say gift...? Like thank you gift...? From his mother... For me...?_

Her eyes trailed up from the box and toward Anima, the poor boy's eyes still shut tight and red-faced and nearly sweating up a storm in embarrassment. Her hands stalled at her sides, simply looking up at him and just as lost for words as he seemed to have been just a few moments before.

 _... For... Stopping the car...? And taking him as an Intern...? And being... Nice...?_

 _... But... The first bit was just... My job... And the Intern thing was just... A whim, really..._

She blinked a few more times, her posture wilting a a little bit more.

 _... This... his mother thanking me for anything is just... Unnecessary... I don't..._

Her eyes flashed as she bit the inside of her cheek.

 _... I'm not sure... I get it...?_

And to make it clear, she _had_ been thanked before. Of course, she was a Pro Hero and she had helped people, kept them safe, the whole works... Lots of people said thank you and thanked her for her work, actions, and whatever when she was out and about on duty. That was normal and totally expected in the line of a Pro- and she knew that, and understood all that... But this was... _Huh_

 _... This is a thank you from someone I've never even met before... And for things that... I don't really need to be thanked for...?_

 _... And it's not just a thank you, it's a gift._

 _... But I'm just... Doing my job...?_

She bit the inside of both cheeks now and let out a small breath, quickly deciding she just needed to move on- because no matter how hard her mind ground away at the situation, she still felt like she just _didn't get it._

So she wouldn't get it, but letting the silence drag on wasn't gonna help anything.

"... Alright, but what is it..?" Spirit asked softly, breaking the bit of silence and raising her hands up to take the box from him at last. He handed it over gratefully and tapped his fingers together once his hands were free, while Spirit dipped her head a bit to the box and sniffed at it.

 _... Huh... smells sweet_

"T-they're melonpan..." Koda explained quickly and Spirit's eyes widened in surprise and intrigue.

 _That's that sweet bread shaped to look like melon, right?  
_

She smiled slightly, glancing back up at him and humming.

"Well, tell your mother thank you for me." Spirit murmured brightly, "These smell good, and I'm sure they'll taste just as well. Ah, and thank you for delivering them." She told him brightly and he blinked, flushing a slight bit more as he quickly nodded.

"Y-yeah, o-of course..!" He replied, she smiled.

"I can take your stuff and set it over here with everything else." She murmured, shifting the box of melonpan into one hand and her other extending toward him. He hurriedly handed off his bag with a quick 'thank you'.

Spirit hummed a little bit and turned on her heel, walking back toward that tree with the birds she had been staring at. She slowed up at the base of the tree, setting the box and his bag down in the grass at it's roots and beside her own bag- which she had set there about an hour beforehand.

She dug around in her bag for a few seconds as her hand closed around a long leather strap, she pulled it out with little a word and rolled it up into a small ball before she straightened up and turned toward him. Anima hadn't moved from his original spot and seemed a little stuck in place, waiting for some direction of what they would be doing... And all the while those two squirrels on his shoulders stayed where they were, utterly content. His eyes found the strap she held on to a little warily,

 _He still looks nervous... he's not a confrontational person, so fighting anyone directly really wouldn't appeal I suppose._

 _But he's gotta learn how to fight effectively. It's important, and especially since being able to fight may very well save his life or someone else's someday._

Spirit sighed, her hands falling on her hips and her red eyes flashing.

 _Though I've never actually taught anyone how to fight before... And I really don't think taking a lot of notes from how I was taught is gonna go very well either... So can't just copy all that... It's too harsh._

 _... back then it was almost too harsh for me, really... And definitely-_

She bit the inside of her cheek hard, letting the small stab of pain distract her and keep her thoughts from going any further.

She'd been debating with herself how the actual combat training was gonna go since the early hours of the morning, and she was still doing so even right now. Because as much as she knew he had to learn this and learn it well, she couldn't go too hard on him. He wasn't someone you could just push and push until they broke... And she didn't want to break him, or even get close to it- even if she might have been underestimating how much pushing he could actually take. Last thing she wanted to do was push too hard and too far and put him in a place where he was too hurt, scared, or unable to keep going at all- whether physically, or mentally.

And worst of all she didn't want to push him to the point where he started to think all this work to be a Pro Hero just wasn't worth it, or wasn't something he wanted to be anymore.

So really- how far could she go? How hard could she push him?

 _I'm not sure I know... So I'll just have to... Tread lightly..._

Though tread too lightly and it could turn out none of this training really counted for much. She had to push hard enough for him to actually learn, and to not feel to safe with her here and misjudge things when he was in a real fight with someone else.

She didn't know where to draw the line, and she couldn't figure it out even all these hours spent thinking about it.

 _... I guess I don't really get this either, huh...?_

 _... I just... Don't want to be as hard on him as everyone was on me... But I want to be an effective teacher still._

 _... I don't want this to be hell... and I won't make it that way... I just want to actually help him learn in a good way._

 _... Being a teacher is hard, huh...?_

She shook her head at herself, imperceptibly so as her expression fell flat and utterly neutral. She shifted a bit, her feet squaring as she faced him,and quickly tossed the bundled up strap toward him. Anima fumbled slightly, quickly moving to catch it in his hands and looking confused as well as a little uneasy, his eyes darting from it and toward the Pro again in little time at all.

Spirit matched his eyes, her hand raising, beckoning Anima toward her with a wave of her hand and eyes glittering as he stiffened at the gesture.

"We're gonna start with something simple." Spirit murmured coolly, "You said you haven't had a lot of actual combat training, but I want to see where you are myself. The best way of gauging what you know and how you fight naturally is to just start right in, and let you have at it." His eyes flashed, his hands around the strap tightening unconsciously as he swallowed, and still Animal Spirit remained calm and postured and so utterly serious in front of him. "Do your best to tie that around me." She murmured, "Around my hand, leg, arm, whatever... in essence, do your best to fight me, and apprehend me, in whatever way you can or see fit." Her free hand fell behind her back, the other still held out in front of her after having waved for him to approach. And he didn't, he stood still in his spot looking increasingly more nervous with the instructions she was giving him. "The point of this is to work on your hand-to-hand combat skills, but if you want to use your Quirk in order to capture me, you can do so." Spirit murmured, "I won't use mine though, I'm going to stay in this Form and do what I can to avoid you, and block whatever attacks you send my way." He stiffened a little more, and she let out a silent breath.

 _... I don't know if this is the right way-_

"Don't hold back. Give me everything you have and don't be afraid of hurting me." Spirit went on, and his hands wrung around the strap almost pensively at that. "Treat this as a real battle. As if I am not Animal Spirit, but a Villain you need to capture in order to keep other people safe." Spirit murmured lowly, and he swallowed again, his worried expression slowly twisting into something else.

 _\- but this is something that needs to be done... I need to see what he can do just on his own, and he needs to get into the mindset of all of this._

Her eyes locked with his, level and steady as she watched his uneasiness fade slowly, his rigid posture gaining a bit of steadiness that was mirrored in his expression. Slowly, bit by bit, and second by second as they kept their eyes locked- she could see that familiar nervousness in the boy turning into what she was hoping for.

 _Determination_

"You are the Hero and I am your enemy. Capture me in order to save the lives of innocent people."

Anima nodded stiffly, his feet squaring slightly as he shifted the strap into one hand, both hands balling into fists as he settled her with a look that was nothing but slowly burning brighter _resolve._

 _There we are_

Spirit let out a quiet breath, her red eyes glittering as she watched him adjust slowly, his eyes quickly darting from her to the area around her. She could practically see the gears grinding in his head, turning as he quickly tried to piece together a sort of plan or even just where to begin. And she stayed there, quiet as she watched him, expectant.

A large part of being a Pro Hero (and a good one) was just being able to work on the fly, and to face new enemies every day and work up a feasible plan to combat them and what new Quirks and powers that came with them. Not every Villain was the same and the Quirks were never the same either, that meant the battles were _always_ different and new, at least in some way.

You had to be able to contend with people and Quirks you knew nothing about, and find a way to apprehend those people and stop them from hurting others. You had to be able to fight your enemies in an effective way, and effective enough you minimize as much damage and harm as you possibly can. All while making sure you don't get too hurt or killed in the midst of it.

Be able to fight well on the part of others, but also well enough to keep yourself alive too.

 _Fight or- damn it Spirit, no_

"I understand, Spirit-Sensei." Anima told her steadily, his gaze level and firm as he nodded at her just once.

"To protect others... I will do my best to beat you!"

 **.:+:.**

 _EbonyAnimalSpirit_

 _...(Yesterday)..._

 _Good afternoon Sunshine, how are you~? Anything exciting happen with your Internship yet~?_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _Your Internship did get a little exciting huh? Saw ya on the news about the car crashes, did your Intern do okay~?_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._

 _...(3h Ago)..._

 _Good morning Sunshine~! Hope you slept well after working so hard with that car yesterday~!_  
 _Got anything fun planned for your Internship today~?_

 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._  
 _..._

 _...(2h Ago)..._

 _Hope you're having fun, Sunshine~! And good luck with whatever you're doing today~!_  
 _... Not that I think you'll need it~!_

Hawks sighed quietly as he drew his thumb up on the screen in vain hope that he wasn't actually at the bottom of the conversation... But yeah, it definitely ended there.

And seeing as how each set of messages ( _his_ messages) all had a small little stamp of 'Seen' underneath them- it was very clear that Animal Spirit had read his messages, and utterly ignored them.

For two days straight.

He sighed again, letting his phone and his hand fall as he crossed his arms over his knees and bent over a bit. He was crouched on the edge of a building, perched on the balls of his feet and the wind weaving around his form on a constant loop.

He smiled wearily to himself, his eyes falling on the slow buzz of people and traffic far, far below but not really paying much attention to it.

"Mmmm... A little rude of you, Spirit... But hey, maybe you're just too busy to really spend much time on your phone, huh..?" He mumbled to himself, "... I mean you are in the middle of an Internship, so can't blame ya if you're focusing on that... But still, would be nice to reply with just a little something... I'm Interning someone too, but I'd still find time to reply to you if the roles were reversed, ya know..." He smiled a little more, chuckling dryly but not very much amused.

"... And I am talking to you as if you were actually here... Which means I am talking to myself... Man, since I met you that's become a bad habit of mine, Spirit."

He moved a hand up to hold his cheek as he let his elbow rest atop his knee, his eyes trailing up from the city and instead settling on the horizon behind the tops of the tallest buildings ahead of him.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't started to feel a bit... Well, fidgety. A sort of fidget and itch that has settled into his core, and one that had him absolutely _itching_ to find her again- hang out, chat, whatever. As long as they could be face to face and in the same fifty feet of one another.

But even though he felt that, rationally he knew he couldn't very well act on it. First being she had been royally pissed off when she thought he might have been spying on her, or following her. So if he were to just send out a few of his feathers and look for her, and then pop up- she'd totally know that's what had happened, and he couldn't risk her dropping him over it.

Secondly- and because he couldn't track her down himself- he couldn't find her any other way either. Usually if he was stuck without using his Quirk to look for someone, he would turn to more traditional methods. And in this case with Spirit being a fairly popular Pro Hero, his best way of tracking her down without falling into his sort-of-spying was to just check the news and media for her. Most sites and whatnot kept tabs on where Pro's were when they were out and about, and generally those were accurate enough to hone in on a specific Hero within a few blocks or so... But he'd already been checking every web outlet on that end, and there had not been any mention of Animal Spirit or her Intern at all today. So, he couldn't track her down at all... Even though he really wanted to.

And thirdly, he figured he should at least try not to act _obsessed_ obsessed... At least not too outwardly.

He hummed under his breath and adjusted his headphones, tucking his phone away in his coat pocket as he slowly straightened up.

"... Well, oughtta keep busy then, huh? To keep my mind off her~!" He said to himself, before pausing, his head turning as he glanced in the direction behind him and the city that way.

He slowly turned all the way, walking along the edge of the building with the utmost ease and calm and he ran his hand through his bangs slowly, before his hand fell to find a familiar place grasping the collar of his jacket. He came to another pause, his eyes tracing the city and the small, almost imperceptible way in which it slowly changed the further that way you went... He tugged at the collar, pulling it over his mouth as his eyes narrowed at the far horizon, before he cast a quick glance back behind and below him, and then back ahead again.

"... Weeell... So far Hosu has been kinda slow..."

 **.:+:.**

She sidestepped left, spinning on her heel as she passed him by and then easily turned to face him again. She cast a cautious glance behind her, aware of her own space and her own feet, whilst simultaneously aware of where Anima was at all times.

She looked ahead again as the young boy turned, regaining himself rather fast from trying to grab on to her just then. He caught his balance again and their eyes matched, but she had already backed off a few paces and put room between them again before he ever turned around all the way.

For someone so bulky it was expected he wouldn't be very fast, and nowhere near as fast as she was- but that was fine, he just had to find a way to make his size and lack of speed work for him.

 _... Which he is still trying to piece together... But at least he's persistent_

Though given this little game of 'Catch Spirit' had been going on for the last half hour, and he hadn't made much headway in terms of capturing her, she was starting to wonder if she should call a pause... Maybe give some pointers...

 _... But still, he needs to be able to come up with a viable plan all on his own. It won't do much in the way of progress if I just give him an answer._

And despite what determination had ignited in him to do this little exercise- and her own instructions not to hold back- she could still tell that he _was_ holding back. Every hit he sent her way was lacking all manner of strength and force behind it, like he was afraid of hurting her or taking it too far. Or maybe he really couldn't just work himself up to being that confrontational with another person at all.

So even if he could get passed his lack of speed against her own, he wasn't using his full strength, and so his attempts at detaining her just weren't up to par enough.

Because honestly, that kid was so big and bulky he was bound to have her beat in terms of physical strength (at least in her Human Form). So if he could get ahold of her or land a good enough hit, he could wind her pretty well, and probably easily overpower her if he got a firm enough grip.

But none of that mattered for much unless he was willing to go that far.

 _... I'm starting to think this capture exercise just isn't gonna work out_

 _Maybe if he used his Quirk he'd have a bit more of an edge, but I haven't seen him try to order any animals around... Maybe he's trying to prove he can do this with just himself?_

She came to a pause about a dozen feet from him and he paused too, panting slightly and seeming to take a pause and just think. And she left him at it, her posture still slightly defensive- but just that, slightly.

It had been very easy so far to dodge and deflect everything he did, honestly... Maybe she was just overestimating how well he should be doing against her?

 _I am a fairly experienced Pro... He's just a first year... Maybe I'm not giving him enough slack? Rationally it isn't fair to think someone with so little experience can take me on and really get that far... Should I slow up a bit? Give him more of a chance?_

She sighed silently to herself, her eyes flashing as she bit the inside of her cheek a little.

 _... Honestly I feel like I am going easy already... But maybe I need to hold back even more... Given the nature of his Quirk he's pretty much set to be a long to mid-distance type fighter, and I am the complete opposite of that... That's a disadvantage in itself, even discounting his lack of experience and speed compared to my own, I suppose..._

With another internal sigh she let her eyes drop closed, and her hands fell lightly on her hips as she momentarily lost every scrap of her defensive posture.

"... You are holding back." She called quietly, and though she wasn't looking at him, she could practically feel the nervousness spark from him at the words. "I understand this is new, and not something you're used to, but in order to gauge your skills effectively, you have to give me everything you can." Her eyes opened again as she matched gazes with him, though he met her eyes rather uneasily. "... You don't have to hurt me, in order to capture me." she added softly, and he blinked in surprise. "Usually you do everything you can not to hurt anyone, even your enemies. A good quality in any Pro is to be able to subdue a threat without having to resort to causing harm, and having the skill to come up with a plan that avoids just using sheer force."

She paused slightly, her eyes moving away from him and to the line of trees to her right, biting the inside of her cheek.

... That was a bit hypocritical of her to say though, since in general terms she never really tried _not_ to hurt anyone when she fought with them. Sure she wasn't looking to seriously injure them, but if she had to rough them up to finish the job quickly, and get the conflict over quickly enough to avoid any craziness- so be it.

That being said, she was sure she could keep from hurting someone at all if she was really trying.

She glanced back toward him, her eyes flashing. "If you're worried about causing harm, then find a way to subdue me without hurting me." she murmured, and he nodded a little, his eyes falling from her and toward the strap he still held on to. Spirit's eyes dropped closed as silence fell between them again, both of them still in their places and unmoving. A breeze wove through the trees, rustling the leaves overhead and bringing with it the event of dew, animals and greenery of all kinds.

She took in a deep breath, the scent of grass, bark and birds dancing on the air mixed with the recognizable tang of rain... she hummed a bit under her breath, shaking her head slightly at herself.

 _... smells like it's gonna rain... maybe it will pass us by entirely...?_

She tilted her head back, scanning the bit of blue sky she could see passed the tree branches. Here and there were thin wisps of white cloud, and every once in awhile a bird fluttered overhead and out of sight... but that was it, despite the smell on the air.

 _...mmmm... or at least hold off long enough to get a good bit of training in... but even then we probably shouldn't quit too early..._

She let her eyes drop closed again, her head still titled back and taking in a deeper breath of air.

 _... it would suck to get caught in the rain and still have to work... It's just not fun... but it's not like I ever have much a choice..._

She sighed and let her head drop back down, her eyes opening again to settle on Anima and seeing that some of his nervousness from a bit before seemed to have given way to quiet contemplation and cool. She blinked, quiet in place as she watched his eyes move this way and that along the boundaries of the clearing.

 _... he looks like he's trying to plan out his steps..._

She tilted her head a bit, her eyes narrowing as she watched him. Every slight, nearly imperceptible movement... everywhere his eyes went and how frequently, or how long- before she stopped herself and looked away entirely.

 _... damn it I said I needed to go easier on him... can't watch his every move, gotta give him some chance at an element of surprise, right..?_

But of course in a usual fight there wouldn't be any lengthy pauses like the one they were in now. Real conflict was too fast paced, and you didn't have time to just stand still and really get a good look at your surroundings- there was always someone coming at you, attacking, throwing things... or maybe you were just too busy trying to juggle all the chaos, you had to learn to just do things seconds at a time.

Needless to say, in a real situation he wouldn't have the luxury of sitting there and sifting through his every move, step, whatever. If an actual Pro were to just stand there and try and hash out every detail, they'd be a sitting duck. You can't be still, you can't hesitate, and you can't be slow- you have to keep moving, keep thinking, keep _doing_.

 _But that'll be a lesson for later though, for now I'll just let him have time to think it over._

She glanced up at the sky, her eyes catching sight of a small band of birds fluttering passed overhead, before disappearing from sight again.

 _... I wonder what the thoughts were going through their heads... When I did this...?_

 _... None of them ever took their eyes off me... There was no going easy..._

She bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood, the prick of pain a reminder to herself to _stop_ thinking about that.

 _Damn me, why does my head always go back to all that shit? I need to think of something else- anything else..._

 _-uuuh, maybe... Sing a song...? No, that's weird to do right not... But what else am I supposed to think about...?_

 _... Damn I don't know..._

Another few birds moved overhead and she blinked, her attention finding the small, grey downy feather that started to fall down toward her soon after.

 _... Come to think of it... Feathers has messaged me a few times, huh...? And I haven't... Replied..._

She bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling internally as the little piece of down gently fell through the air in front of her.

 _... Grant you he is supposed to be focused on his own Internship right now, so he really shouldn't be wasting time trying to get my attention... That's why I've ignored his dumbass._

Her eyes trailed downward slowly as the piece of fluff drew nearer the grass, and she sighed internally.

 _... That and I've been pretty focused on making this Internship thing turn out well, and trying to keep up with work at the same time... Plus last night just sucked, between the club and the pain and the drugs and the nig-_

Her shoulders hunched slightly, her teeth gritting.

 _-tch, always right back around to everything I don't want to think about._

She blinked though, her thoughts derailing for a minute when she realized she'd actually been paying absolutely no attention to Anima at all... And he wasn't where he'd been standing...?

She glanced around quickly, her ears immediately locking on the sound of his footfalls on the grass a bit to her left. She hissed under her breath, her heel digging into the ground and ready to turn quickly to face him.

 _Damn it... I mean, I was trying to give him an upper hand, but I totally spaced-_

She never got a look at the kid though, her world and her senses got washed out in a drone of dozens (if not hundreds) wings flapping and birds cawing at the top of their little lungs. They circled in around her, batting against her body with their wings, clustered together with no room for her to move much at all, and relentless. Her ears rung with the sound of feathers on air and the shrill caws going off, her eyes narrowed to slits against her world being consumed in the noise and the muddy-grey color of all of them spinning around her.

 _Shit, where did all these birds come from anyway? I didn't hear him call any... And this is like a lot of birds!_

She grit her teeth harder, growling in agitation. She couldn't even begin to try and pick up on the sound of Anima's footsteps in all this racket, it would just be a waste of her time. And she couldn't see anything either, the birds kept battering against her no matter how much she tried to shoo them off, it was like they made up a big, frothing, moving cloud. She huffed and closed her eyes, her arms up to shield her face from the birds. She sucked in a deep breath of air, forgetting her ears and her vision and turning toward the only thing left- her sense of smell.

Instinct would have made her think Anima was coming her way from where she last heard his footsteps, but she knew better (or at least hoped the kid knew better than to be that obvious...). Her nose twitched, the scent of bird and dust hitting her full on, the air and the scents with it absolutely whirling as their pounding wings stirred up a current... But another scent hit her nose too, and for a moment she faltered when she smelled something that she was utterly sure was _rabbit._ And it was coming from somewhere upwind of her, which in this case was behind her.

 _... Ah.. Weird-_

She didn't dwell on it though, she stiffened, dropping down into a crouch and her fingers pressing against the grass. The swarm of birds faltered for a moment at her sudden adjustment, and she felt cooler air hit her back from the break in the avian curtain now that she had gotten closer to the ground (and subsequently made flying without hitting the ground all that much harder). In the brief two seconds the cooler air washed over her back, it quickly changed again and she tensed, easily able to sense something behind her- much, much bigger than the birds.

 _Well Anima, I'm glad you circled around once the birds started to distract me, instead of just charging me head on- the cutting off my sight and my ears was a nice touch too._

She rolled right, lightning fast and red eyes narrowed as she instantly brought herself away from the cloud of noisy-as-hell birds and completely out of Anima's path as he tried to come up behind her.

 _... But sorry, my nose is harder to get passed._

He was quick to redirect though, even despite her evading his first attempt. He turned on his heel and started toward her again, grim-faced and clutching tightly to the strap she had given him, he was three steps toward her before she got to her feet again- and the birds redirected too, disbanding the spinning cloud they had been in, and instead rushing out toward her in a stream.

 _Damn these birds are persistent-_

His hand jerked out, jumping forward as he quickly tried to tie her up in the strap, but she easily sidestepped out of his way and backed up again- hissing as the birds swept up and started pulling at her suit and her hair as they flew passed.

 _-and getting quickly annoying!_

She backed up again, drawing closer to the edge of the clearing and trees with it. Her feet hit the roots of a tree and she growled, quickly turning her back on Anima and the birds as she circled the tree, stepping back out into the clearing and behind Anima in the course of four seconds. The birds redirected easily, circling the tree in a mass wave and starting out toward her again, though the young boy looked a little stunned at how quickly she avoided him still even with the constant distraction.

Her fists clenched at her sides, glaring at the cloud of birds quickly getting closer and actively fighting the urge to let her Quirk flare and give herself claws, so she could swipe at them and hopefully deter their pecking. But she said she wouldn't use her Quirk, and she meant it, even if the birds were aggravating as hell.

She sucked in a sharp breath of air and felt her heart skip a beat, the overwhelming scent of bird and vegetation washed across by something different this time- and no, not the same thing she had caught earlier- this smelled like...

She hissed, the birds fluttering by at breakneck speed and making it hard to see anything, let alone what belonged to that scent she only caught wisps of from over her shoulder. She dropped down onto the balls of her feet again, her hands pressing against the ground, crouched in an almost catlike position and eyes narrowed as she cast a glance over her shoulder and found the owner of the scent- well, owners.

Those two squirrels that had brought Anima to this clearing were darting across the ground toward her, their teeth clamped down on either end of the strap she had given to the young boy to capture her with, and keeping it aloft between them as they ran in level with each other. She blinked, the birds quickly dropping to fly level with her again and keep her line of sight blocked, but it was too late.

 _Not a bad plan though, I'll give him that._

She turned, still crouched down and red eyes narrowed to slits as she faced the little rodents, ignoring the birds and their constant pulling and prodding. They faltered in their running as she faced them, startled she had turned to face them at all, and she lowered herself a bit more, almost poised and ready to strike as her eyes flashed with an eerie red glow- and she let out a low, rumbling, menacing _hiss._

 _I might be cheating a little... eh, but not that much._

The squirrels skid to a halt, fur fluffing up and fear igniting in their eyes as they struggled to draw up instead of run at her- even the birds squawked in surprise and backed off a little. Spirit smirked, rocking on her feet and hands a little and head twitching, the feeling of Anima's footsteps vibrating through the earth and up through her hands.

She waited until he was about a few steps from her, before she pushed herself backward, spinning delicately on her heel and her arm sweeping out to easily knock his hands aside as he tried to reach out for her, and completing her turn as she backed off from him again.

She stiffened though, her steps faltering when she finished her turn only to come face to face with another wave of birds- and they rammed into her full force, knocking her backward instead of just playing a nuisance. She hissed, losing her footing a little but still managing to stay on her feet... only her shoulder bumped into Anima's back.

She grit her teeth, ready to push off of him and put some distance between the both of them again, but in the few seconds her shoulder made contact with him, she felt tiny claws digging into her arm, snaking around it and then back off again- and she felt herself tugged backward.

One of the squirrels had jumped from Anima's shoulder on to hers in the short time they were close enough to do so, and the creature wriggled itself over and under her arm just as quickly- pulling the strap with it. It's teeth remained clamped to the one end of the strap as it jumped back to Anima's shoulder again, before the boy's hand clamped down on the strap and the squirrel let go. Now both ends of the leather gripped tightly in the boy's hands, keeping tension on the portion that had been wrapped around the upper part of her arm. His eyes snapped shut as he grabbed the other end, pulling tightly on it and at a very odd angle. His back was facing hers still, and he held to one end of the strap over his shoulder, and the other underneath the arm of that same shoulder... made all the more awkward a position, given he was a fair deal taller than she was.

 _Damn, he actually-_

But he didn't stop tugging, he was still moving and her eyes widened, realizing instantly that he had gotten wrapped up in the fast-paced action and the adrenaline a bit too much to immediately realize that the exercise was over. He pulled on her roughly, easily overpowering her with his sheer size and her feet slid on the grass, her body twisting as she lost her footing and she felt herself get pulled backward, and then promptly hit the grass flat on her back. Her arm jerked upward a bit painfully where he was still holding on to the leather strap, but her full weight suddenly pulling on the strap in his hands caused him to stumble too. He let out a surprised yelp and struggled not to tilt over all the way, and in his rush not to fall he let go of the strap and took a few rushed, unsteady steps to his left to regain his balance.

Spirit blinked, staring up at the sky and her arm jerking one last time as he started to stumble off, before he let go, but she just let it fall to the ground. She was more focused on biting down on her tongue so she wouldn't let slip a small hiss of pain when she hit the grass, and dull stab of pain ran up from the wound in her side, but little else thankfully.

She just let herself stay there for a moment, staring at the sky, quiet and reeling from the sudden change in events, and the fact he'd sort of... well, _thrown_ her to the ground.

 _... he got... really into the whole thing, huh...?_

She smiled to herself, her eyes dropping closed as she chuckled a bit under her breath.

 _... though I guess that's what I wanted, huh? Can't nag at him for doing what I said._

"O-Oh, Spirit-Sensei are you okay..?!" Anima's slightly panicked voice sounded next, the poor boy finally steadying himself enough and realizing (in no small amount of mortification) that he'd made her crash into the ground, and she had yet to get back up again. He darted quickly back over to her, fidgeting and sweating up a storm as he hovered over her, his hands clasped together tightly in front of him and not quite sure what to do. Spirit cracked an eye open to look up at him, smiling still as she let out an amused breath.

"Yep." She replied with ease, before pulling herself up into a sitting position and sitting cross-legged in the grass, the strap around her arm loosening as she shifted and falling into her lap. He let out an audible sigh of relief, she just chuckled a little more. "Good job on catching me. It took you awhile to get there, but in the end you did well, so A+ for this exercise." She added, and he flushed faintly in embarrassment.

"O-Oh, but you dodged me so well the whole time... it was like nothing I did made any difference..." He mumbled quietly, holding his cheeks in his hands self-consciously. "... and you're so fast, I could hardly keep up..." Spirit shook her head,

"Don't forget that I'm a fully trained Pro, though." She told him lightly, "I don't expect you to be as agile nor as experienced as I am, and it's only natural that it be hard to gain the upper hand against me." She smiled a bit more, "But you did manage to catch me, and you caught me off guard a few times- even if I was quick to recover. And you were using your Quirk in some really effective ways, most of the things you did try out weren't all that bad. Especially handing the strap off to the other animals, to keep me on my toes. That was a nice touch." He flushed more, looking away in embarrassment and shutting his eyes against it. "All in all, for someone with so little combat experience, you did quite well."

"T..Thank you..." He stammered, she hummed, her hand lifting as she patted the grass.

"Go ahead and sit down, we'll take a bit of a break before starting into something new." She told him, and he paused, before quickly nodding and settling down to sit on his heels about three feet to her left. The squirrels moved up to him as he did so, passing her by slowly and looking wary, before darting quickly to the safety of Anima's shoulders. The flock of birds settled in the trees around them, cooing and fluffing up their wings as they tried to settle too, and Spirit gave him a minute or two to just sit in quiet and calm down a bit.

"... so, what made you decide to go with the birds?" She asked after a moment, and he blinked, looking a little unsure of the question, before his eyes fell again and he tapped his fingers together a bit nervously.

"Uhm... well I figured I needed a way to distract you... since you seem really good at keeping track of where I am... at all times..." He murmured slowly, "... I know I'm not as fast as you, Spirit-Sensei... and I don't think I can be fast enough against you, no matter how hard I might try... so I was hoping if you were busy with all of them, I might be able to sneak in and get ahold of you... and if you couldn't see me, it might be easier to get closer too..." He trailed off, his shoulders hunching slightly. "... but you still managed to know where I was and these two as well, even if you really couldn't see us... you kept dodging everything... even though the birds were blocking your view..." He added softly with a gesture to the squirrels.

"It was a good idea." She told him lightly, "And it worked better than you realized. I couldn't see you, or hear you, so keeping track of you was all the harder. Using a flock of birds like that will be an effective way of distracting Villains and making detaining them easier. Since sight and sound will be muffled pretty drastically, in most situations it'll really come in handy."

"... but you... how did you still know where we were, and how to dodge, Spirit-Sensei..?" He asked, his head tilting in confusion, and she smiled slightly.

"My nose." She replied simply, and his eyes flashed. "Even if I couldn't hear or see you, I could still pick up your scent, and guess where you were and how close based on that."

"... your senses are really heightened then, even without using your Quirk to Transform...?" He mumbled in near awe, and she nodded.

"Yep." She hummed, and he smiled, his eyes gleaming as he clapped his hands together softly.

"Ah, Spirit-Sensei you're really amazing..!" He breathed, and she smiled still, though she felt her face heat up despite herself. "I-I didn't realize your Quirk heightened your senses like that...! Even when you aren't in animal form... that's incredible...!"

"Hmm, thank you." She replied softly, and he nodded. "Though I do have a question for you, curiosity mostly, if that's okay?" She told him, and he looked surprised, his head tilted, before nodding a little.

".. ah... sure, ask me anything, Spirit-Sensei.." He mumbled, she smiled a bit more.

"Do you have a rabbit at home, by chance?" She asked, and his eyes went wide, looking a little stunned, before nodding quickly.

"Y-yes, I do..!" He breathed, "H-How did you..?" He started, before his eyes went wider and he seemed to answer the question himself. "C-Can you really smell Yuwai-chan on me...?" He asked quickly, and she blinked at the name.

 _... Yuwai-chan... is that the rabbit's name...?_

 _Ah... that's kinda cute..!_

"Hehe, yeah." She replied brightly, "I thought it was kinda weird at first, I didn't realize what I was smelling was you right away... but I figured it was probably because you were around a rabbit pretty often, or had one living with you at home." She explained, and he looked all the more awed with the explanation.

".. w..wow..!" He breathed, "Do you... are you familiar with all sorts of smells then...? And can you differentiate between them easily...? H-How do you know what's what...?" He asked quickly, before cutting himself off when he realized he was asking a lot at once, and he wasn't sure if he should be. His face went red in embarrassment as he covered his mouth with his hands, "S-sorry, Spirit-Sensei... I didn't meant to ask so much..." He apologized softly, "... It's just... well no one really knows a lot about your Quirk, o-or how it works... and don't really either, even though I'm a fan... sorry, I don't mean to be rude...!"

Spirit paused, her eyes flashing as her smiled softened, just a little.

People didn't know much about her Quirk because she wanted it that way... and she really wasn't looking to delve into the finer details with anybody. She was too guarded for that, she kept things- personal things- to herself out of caution, and habit, and maybe even paranoia, and she didn't change course from that... or at least not lightly.

And she knew the poor kid asked only out of simple curiosity, and she didn't blame him for it. He'd started this whole Internship making it clear to her that he was a fan of hers, and it was natural for him to wonder about how her Quirk worked- especially now that he was able to spend time with her, and not be forced back at a distance like the rest of the world was.

The questions did set that persistent feeling of unease alight in her core, questions always did... but the unease wasn't paired with a sharp sense of suspicion or distrust, like it normally would be. Because all in all, she knew there was little to no way talking to Anima about any of it would land her in trouble, or screw her over some day. And she _really_ doubted that he'd take anything she told him and go post it somewhere on the internet for all the world to see, or blab about it with other people- he wasn't that sort of person.

 _He's just a kid... a kind, nervous, quiet kid._

"It's alright." She told him softly, "I don't mind answering a few things, so don't worry about it." He blinked at her in surprise, before smiling gratefully. "And in answer, yes- I am quite familiar with a lot of smells, and I can categorize them pretty well into different objects, people, animals, and other things, without really having to think about it... though in terms of how I know what's what, it's mostly from memory of things I've smelled before, or smelled something like." She explained, before shrugging at the end. "In terms of different animal scents, I'd say I know a rabbit from a bird or a mouse out of simple... instinct." She murmured, "... mostly predatory instinct... but regular instinct all around." He seemed to pause on the last bit, instinct, like he wasn't sure he understood... or maybe he had more to ask, but he never did.

He just nodded and smiled at her, "... that's incredible." He hummed, "Thank you for explaining some of it to me, Spirit-Sensei..!"

"Hmm, you're welcome." She replied, "You ready to start on to the next bit of the day?"

"Y-yes! I will do my best..!"

"Great, then let's start on some hand-to-hand combat lessons."

"A-Alright...!"

* * *

 **This is a double chapter update, since I had to break this chapter into two parts cause it got too long!**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Please, follow, fav and Review~! Thank you kindly~!**


	15. Chapter 15- Try

**Chapter 15**

 **Try**

 **.:+:.**

 _... I should never have trusted you..._

 **.:+:.**

 _He's actually not bad at it... once he gets over his initial worry about accidentally hurting me_

She glanced down at Anima quietly, the boy laying on his back in the grass and panting as he fought to catch his breath again. He was huffing, his eyes closed and covered in bits of grass, with dirt and mud smeared across his arms and knees and a few bruises here and there too... he was exhausted, and rightfully so. They had been going at the combat training hard as hell the whole day, and had only stopped briefly for lunch around noon, before going right back at it again, and harder and harder as time went on.

She'd intended to go easy on him, and she mostly had, but she ended up pushing harder than she had originally intended to, and Anima had continued on well even despite that. And he didn't complain (not that she expected he would) with anything she threw at him, and he worked hard to learn and to understand the techniques she had shown him, and do them properly... and he grit his teeth and tried again when he didn't, or ended up hitting the ground by a quick jab or counter she sent his way and he didn't manage to block. He didn't give up, no matter if his body ached from the hits or the constant movement, and he still didn't give up when his legs shook and he found it harder and harder to stay standing.

She was pushing hard, but not enough to draw blood, or really hurt him- and she had to think that it would do him some good in the long run.

 _... He's an honest hard worker, I'm actually impressed... And once he gets into it, the kid is really freakin' strong._

She smiled a bit to herself, her arms crossing over her chest and glancing upward at the sky.

 _... He picked up on most of the notes and things I showed him pretty quickly too... Even if he doesn't want to pick a fight, he should be okay to take care of himself when he gets into one._

She sniffed at the air, the scent of moisture and rain stronger now and had been getting stronger the whole time. The pale blue sky had turned a dismal grey overcast and the wind was slowly picking up too.

 _I was right, it's gonna rain... But it held off for a long while._

She pulled her phone out of her suit and brought the screen to life in order to check the time, only to pause when a notification for a text message caught her attention.

 _From: Death Arms_  
 _Call me when you get done with your Internship for the day. But don't rush._

She blinked, her eyes narrowing as she bit the inside of her cheek.

 _... That sounds a little ominous..._

She shook her head slightly and put the phone back in her suit pocket.

"... Well, it's almost 4." She announced, earning Anima's attention as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. "We'll call it quits for the day, and start heading back to the train station, alright? You worked hard today, so we'll end a bit early." She went on, and he nodded a bit. "... Plus we'll probably miss the rain if we head out now, so that's a bonus too." She added lightly, and he smiled in amusement. "Need a hand?" She offered, extending hers toward him as he looked surprised with the offer, before smiling a little more and moving his hand up to meet hers.

She pulled back, helping him up on to his feet and letting go once he was. He leaned over a bit, trying to dust off his clothes of the mud and whatever else, and managing little, and he sighed.

"Sorry, but hopefully it will wash out easily enough." Spirit murmured, he shook his head with a smile.

"It's alright." He told her softly.

Spirit moved back toward the tree she had dropped her bag and his stuff under, Anima trailing slowly after her and smiling as a few birds dropped down on his shoulders- three of the many from earlier that had stayed to watch the rest of the training. She picked her bag up and strapped it to the low of her back again, before picking his up and handing it off to him. She paused on the pink box of melonpan wrapped in a bow, bending over to pick it up and holding it in her hands lightly.

"... hey, Anima." She murmured, and he looked up in surprise. "You hungry?" Spirit asked, turning toward him and lifting the box a little, smiling. "Come on, we can share some while we walk back."

His eyes went wide, looking a little stunned with the suggestion, and unsure of it too- Spirit just kept smiling, and started toward him and gestured with a tilt of her head for them to start walking.

"Come on, you worked hard today, and I can't eat all of this by myself." She hummed, pausing just long enough to let him start following after her. Once he had, Spirit easily untied the bow and cracked the box open, revealing about half a dozen apple-sized, golden and crosshatched bread sitting inside. She picked one up and handed it toward Anima, and his face flushed as he nodded, smiling sheepishly and taking the bread from her.

"... Ah.. T...Thank you, I appreciate it..." He mumbled softly, and she nodded.

"Of course." She hummed, picking another one up in her hand and shutting the box again as they kept walking through the trees. She tucked the box underneath her arm and sniffed at the melonpan curiously, Anima's head tilting slightly from where he walked at her shoulder and saw that she was... well, hesitating?

 _... it smells sweet, but like regular bread at the same time... how are these made...? I know I read it somewhere..._

She shrugged to herself and cast the question off, biting down into the bread and tearing a piece off as she began to chew- only for the chewing to freeze. Her eyes widened, her eyes locked on the bread and quiet, though her walking never let up and nor did Anima's beside her, but he tilted his head more, looking confused.

Spirit's eyes flashed, her eyes dropping closed as she let out a breath, her lips twitching at the edges and chewing again.

 _Bloody hell this tastes amazing...!_

She swallowed and bit off another piece, her head bopping a bit left and right as she let out a happy humm.

 _Like, way better than I even anticipated..! It's so sweet and fluffy, and the outside is crunchy...!_

 _How have I never tried this before...?! I mean I've never really eaten much sweets, or bothered to buy them, but this is so good!_

She popped the last bit into her mouth and hummed some more, smiling still around the mouthful of food and letting her attention get lost in the taste for a few long moments.

"... ah... Spirit-Sensei...?" Anima asked slowly, and she blinked her eyes open to glance up at him.

"Hmm?" She hummed, still chewing the last bits in her mouth. He smiled a little nervously,

"... do you... like it..?" He asked slowly, and she nodded.

"Yeah." She answered brightly, "You gotta tell your mother thank you for me, and that these taste amazing!" She nearly chirped, and he blinked at the sudden lightened mood. "Honestly, these are so good!" He blinked, waving his hands slightly.

"I-it's just regular melonpan, Spirit-Sensei... it isn't all that special..." He mumbled and she shook her head,

"No, it is really good." She hummed, "I've never had this before, so I had no expectations, but this tastes much better than I could have ever imagined." She told him brightly, and he blinked in surprise.

"... you've never had... melonpan before...?" He asked slowly, Spirit shook her head.

"Nope." She hummed, shifting the box from under her arm again and picking out another bun, before replacing it back under her arm. Anima stared slightly, his eyes growing wide as she started eating the next one, and completely unaware of what incredulous look had appeared on the young boy's face. He kept his eyes on her for a few more moments, before looking away and finishing the last of his own bun.

 _... that seems... really weird to me... melonpan is so popular... everyone's had it at least once... right...?_

He shrugged a little to himself, casting a sideways glance down toward the woman and smiling slightly in amusement to see her still quite happily enjoying her food.

He didn't think anything more of it.

The walk back through the park and out of it was spent in content quiet between them, Spirit settling into a third melonpan while Koda had a second, before she tied the bow back around the box for good and they started through the streets. There were few people out and about even as they drew deeper and deeper into the heart and city of Heiku, they were all anticipating rain and there became more people walking around with their hoods up and umbrellas on standby.

But even with the lessening of crowds on the streets, they still got their fair share of stares and comments being thrown their way, and Spirit handled them with the same grace she always seemed to have- while Anima remained as nervous about the attention as before, but maybe slowly getting more used to it.

"... oh, by the way." Spirit spoke up after awhile, causing Anima to jump when she broke the silence all of a sudden. "I spoke to Death Arms last night. He told me the hostage situation yesterday resolved just fine, and your classmate did really well... Earphone Jack, yeah? Death Arms said she helped get people out of the building and provided recon for him." She explained and his eyes shone at the information, looking both surprised and relieved. "Everybody got out safely and only minimal injuries were reported for some of the hostages, so she's okay and not hurt or anything." Spirit smiled slightly, and Anima nodded, his hands raising as he signed his reply (he actually seemed content to physically talk to her when they were alone... but went back to sign language when around other people... not that she minded).

'That's great to hear..! Thank you for letting me know, Spirit-Sensei..!'

"No problem." She replied, her eyes trailing away from the smiling younger and down, her own small smile dying off.

 _... though speaking of Death Arms... I wonder why he wants me to call him...? And why did he have to be so vague...? What on earth could he want to talk about that he couldn't just text it to me...?_

She bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling a bit under her breath and feeling a small knot slowly getting bigger in her stomach.

But her internal brooding got cut off, her attention snapping back up and ahead toward where people seemed to have started to crowd... like a lot of people, and many of them excited or taking pictures.

"Gah- fucking get me out of these...!"

"W.. WHAT EVEN HAPPENED...?!"

She blinked, her eyes narrowing to slits at the furious and incredulous shouts coming from that direction, heard even above the rabble and rumble of the gathering crowd. Her walking slowed up and Anima's did too, his attention turning to the commotion just as quickly as hers had and looking wary.

 _What the hell...?_

She cast a sideways glance at Anima and tilted her head toward the commotion, motioning for him to follow her as they both headed off toward it.

"... tch.. this fucking sucks...!"

Spirit gently pushed her way through the crowd and toward the front, mumbling small apologies and requests to let her and Anima through and toward the makeshift barricade made up of rope of some kind, and that had been set up to keep the citizens back. There was no one manning the barricades though, not that she would have cared if there was, but she found it slightly odd for the amount of people bunching up.

What had even happened? There was no clear sign of major damage on any of the buildings surrounding, and the atmosphere and demeanor of the people in the crowds didn't give her the impression something serious had happened... so yeah, what the hell?

"Calm down and quit yelling... you're just miffed you got caught so fast."

"... this does suck though... we've been running around all day..."

Spirit ducked under the rope and Anima followed closely behind, while she paused a moment and her eyes swept around the area in front of her to quickly take it all in.

The street was fairly empty, given it had been cordoned off by the rope substance, and it looked a little like a mess. Some trash bins had been knocked over and were spilling their contents, and a few newspaper dispensers were the same way. The biggest bit of damage that appeared to have been done was to a paperstand about halfway up the street, the supports of the roof having been broken and the counter tipped over with the structure itself... resulting in hundreds of magazines and books and whatever else sort of paperwork being littered everywhere on the street and sidewalk around it.

However the thing that interested her most was the half a dozen people all tied up and spread out along the cordoned off section of the street (who of which, were the ones griping and grumbling the most...Villains she assumed, or at least dumbasses making trouble). There were also three other people on the street who were not tied up though, one of them winding the rope substance around one of the Wannabe-Villains on the ground, and another lifting a knocked over newspaper dispenser off it's side and back onto its feet. Both of these men had on attire that immediately told her they were Pro Heroes of some sort, though she certainly didn't recognize them at all.

And the last of the three was someone much younger, wrapped up in a dark cloak and with a very distinctly bird head, and some strange shadow-like creature floating at his shoulder and attached to his back. The younger one stood among two of the subdued Wannabe-Villains, his shoulders shaking and looking quite out of breath, as well as exhausted... the other two men on the street looked fairly weary and exasperated too.

"... look alive kid, we got work to do." the man tying the rope off said wearily, casting a look toward the younger of their trio, once the poor kid managed to catch his breath a bit more.

"... Alright." The kid replied lowly with a small nod.

"... sorry kid, I know it's not really fun times, but it is still work." The other man called over after setting the dispenser back upright. "... Though that guy's been really rushing around today... sometimes I wonder if he even cares what we're doing back here." He grumbled, and the younger boy's eyes fell to the ground as he seemed to frown, almost agitated, though it was mostly hidden.

Spirit blinked, stuck in the spot she had stopped in to look the area over, and her eyes narrowing to slits when she caught the conversation between the three. Anima beside her stiffened though, his eyes darting around the area and then quickly sticking to the bird-like boy ahead of them. She noticed the shocked look pass over his face, his mouth falling open to mouth something she couldn't catch- but even then her eyes diverted passed him and toward a flicker of red she swore she saw dart out of sight down an alleyway.

Her eye twitched, agitation suddenly beginning to trickle into her core, and she forced a slightly heated breath out.

 _Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me_

She started walking forward and Anima followed close behind her, his unease and surprise still clear on his face as they both got closer to the group of people.

"Toko... ah...Tsukuyomi...!" Anima found his voice at last, the name coming out in a hushed sort of squeak- but it was loud enough, and the younger boy ahead of them jumped, turning around slowly and eyes widening when he spotted Anima coming toward him, and with Animal Spirit in tow.

"... Anima...?" Tsukuyomi murmured quietly, turning around all the way to face them as they approached, the shadow floating above his shoulder turning too. Anima pulled ahead of Spirit slightly, stopping in front of the other boy, his hands already moving and gesturing in a series of signs.

'Are you alright..? What happened here...?' Anima asked, Tsukuyomi following the gestures with his eyes, and then nodding solemnly.

"I am alright." He replied evenly, "This group of people were vandalizing the area, though they didn't manage to do much." He explained, and Anima nodded in understanding.

"You're one of Anima's classmates, right?" She asked him calmly, and the boy jumped a little at being addressed by her. Tsukuyomi's eyes shift left and toward Spirit as she stopped at Anima's shoulder, stunned for half a second, before dipping his head and bowing toward her in a rather formal way.

"Yes, my name is Tsukuyomi, and this is Dark Shadow." He introduced himself evenly, gesturing toward the strange shadow-bird creature attached to him. Dark Shadow itself dipped it's head to her in greeting too, and Spirit blinked a few times at the action from both of them, Tsukuyomi still bent over a bit instead of looking up at her. "It is an honor to meet you, Animal Spirit."

She shook her head and offered up a small, slightly exasperated smile. "Ah, you don't need to be so formal." She mumbled, and he stiffened, glancing up slowly.

"My apologies." He murmured, straightening up again and as straight-faced as anyone could be, and rather formal still. Anima smiled slightly beside her, looking a little sheepish when Spirit faltered for a minute at the dark boy's demeanor, before she seemed to shake it off again.

"Huh? Oh, A-Animal Spirit!"

"W-wha.. oh..!"

Her attention moved from Tsukuyomi toward the two men with him, both of them jumping up and looking a little frantic upon noticing she was there. They both quickly moved up toward their small group, smiling nervously and fidgeting as they stopped beside Tsukuyomi, and both gave her a salute.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Animal Spirit...!" Both men said in near perfect unison, and her face fell flat at their stiff-backed salutes, and their flustered behavior.

 _... come on... seriously...? Salutes...?_

"We didn't realize you were in the vicinity..!" Rope-Guy told her quickly, his hand falling back down to his side, and Bin-Dude's hand fell too, nodding in confirmation of his companions words. Spirit sighed silently, deciding it best not to say anything about the behavior, it wasn't worth the time- and they were acting so flustered about her being there, calling them out on it would probably just make things worse.

Though their behavior did tell her what she was already suspecting- they were Pros, but they were both young, and unfamiliar... and add on the behavior?

"It's alright." She murmured, "Are you all okay? Do you need any help wrapping things up?"

"Y-yes, we are fine, thank you for checking..!" Bin-Dude answered immediately, "But no, we don't need any help..!"

"Thank you for the offer, but we have everything in hand. Just a bit of cleanup to be done, all the Villains have been dealt with!" Rope-Guy concluded for his partner, and Tsukuyomi nodded solemnly to words of his elders, though his formal demeanor gave way to hints of frustration anyway. Spirit's red eyes caught the look on the boy from the side, and she felt her own agitation get a little sharper in her core.

"You really needn't worry, we can take care of this." Bin-Dude hummed, smiling sheepishly as his hand found a nervous place on the back of his neck.

"Yeah, it won't be a problem." Rope-Guy added in, and Spirit nodded slightly.

"Alright." She mumbled, pausing for a moment as she glanced passed them and toward the disgruntled Villains all tied up on the street, before she glanced back at the trio standing before her and Anima. "You guys are with Hawks, aren't you?" She asked next, her tone suddenly very neutral and they jumped a little at the assertion, looking both surprised and confused on how she had even come to that conclusion(?)- before nodding quickly in answer.

"Yes ma'am. We're signed on as Sidekicks for him." Bin-Dude explained, gesturing toward himself and Rope-Guy. "And Tsukuyomi here is Interning with Mr. Hawks for the week." He went on, gesturing toward said boy, and Tsukuyomi nodded again, though his eyes remained fixed on the ground.

Spirit growled inwardly at the sudden appearance of 'ma'am' in the conversation, but still she let it slide with a small shake of her head.

"I take it he's gone ahead to deal with the next thing?" She asked next, one hand resting on her hip while the other held the box of melonpan underneath her arm. "And left you three here to do cleanup?" And both Sidekicks looked exasperated at the inquiries, but they tried to smile anyway and nodded their heads.

"Yes ma'am." They murmured in unison, and Spirit's fingers tapped against her hip twice.

"Right... has he been doing that all day?" She grumbled, and again they looked all the more exasperated, and a little confused on why she was asking. The Sidekicks nodded slowly in answer, and she grit her teeth, the spark of agitation in her core getting stronger, though her expression never changed from utter calm.

"... ah, yes ma'am.." The Sidekicks mumbled,

"... and for the last two days as well." Tskukuyomi added in quietly, his eyes dropping closed. "... however, that does appear to be standard behavior for Hawks-Sensei."

Spirit nodded again, though this time she felt her eye twitch, her neutral expression breaking for half a second with a strained, almost sickly-sweet smile. Anima, Tsukuyomi and the Sidekicks all stiffened at the sudden look, a little uneasy at it and not sure where it came from...?

"I see." Spirit murmured, the sickly-sweetness of the smile disappearing nearly as quickly as it came, and something calmer came back in. She glanced up toward Anima, and he blinked a few times, looking a little wary still though her demeanor had gone back to that calm he was used to from her. "Anima, do you mind helping these guys cleanup while we wait for the Police?" He hesitated for a minute, looking a little unsure at the sudden request, but he nodded slowly anyway, his fingers and hands twitching as he signed his reply.

'Of course, I don't mind.'

"A-ah, you really needn't-" Rope-Guy started quickly, but Spirit shook her head and cast him a sideways glance.

"It's fine." She cut him off with ease, "I'm going to talk with Hawks for a bit, so while I do that Anima can help you three out."

All four of them blinked in surprise, looking at her in fairly unsure silence for a few seconds and not at all sure why she seemed to want to talk with Hawks all of a sudden, or what about...?

"Ah... okay..." Rope-Guy mumbled slowly,

"... I mean we'll totally appreciate you lending a hand...!" Bin-Dude hummed, casting the comment toward Anima and earning a shy nod from the boy. Anima cast one last glance at Spirit, before stepping forward a bit toward the other three. The four of them started to slowly back off from Spirit and back toward the street again, casting questioning looks between them and catching Spirit's eyes for half a second as she watched them go.

"Mr. Hawks is probably a few streets ahead of us." Rope-Guy told her, and Spirit nodded.

"Alright-" She mumbled, only to cut off.

"Hellooo there Sunshine~!"

Her mouth snapped shut, the calm of her expression broken in an instant as her agitation hit a peak at the singsong voice overhead. The Sidekicks and Interns all halted too, not having even gotten two or three feet away before they found themselves jumping at the unexpected call, and the nickname too.

"...S.. sunshine...?" All four mumbled under their breaths, too low for Spirit to hear- not that she was paying attention, mind you.

Spirit's head snapped up, red eyes flashing and teeth gritting as her eyes locked with his behind his visor, one of his hands raised and waving at her as he slowly started to drop down toward the ground.

 _Damn it, why can I never hear this idiot coming-?!_

"Quit calling me that, damn it!" She snapped hotly, Hawks simply smiled and waved a hand at her a bit in what was meant to be a calming gesture, his feet hitting the cement and not at all bothered with the sudden fiery temper in the Ebony Hero. A temper of which had the Sidekicks and the Interns both jumping and looking quite taken aback, because it came out of literally _nowhere-_

 _-What kind of side of Animal Spirit is this...?!_

"Sorry, sorry~! I just haven't come up with a better nickname for you yet~!" Hawks replied easily, "Plus I think Sunshine is really growing on me~! I don't think I'm gonna find another name I like better, ya know~" Spirit hissed, her hand on her hip around the box of melonpan growing tighter as her lips pulled into a scowl. "Though I do still like Kuneko and Kitten, but you vetoed those already, so for now I'll keep sticking with Sunshine~!"

Anima, Bin-Dude, and Rope-Guy visibly blushed at the next two 'nicknames' Hawks mentioned, red in the face and suddenly very uncomfortable- because they didn't sound so much like nicknames, rather than _pet-names_. Tsukuyomi even flushed a little himself, averting his eyes from the two Pros and clearing his throat slightly, while Dark Shadow snickered under it's breath.

Just how familiar were Hawks and Animal Spirit anyway..? They had all seen the news and heard the gossip going around the last week or so, but it had just been that- gossip. And as far as Anima, Tsukuyomi and the two Sidekicks had been aware, there hadn't been anything going on at all. Animal Spirit had certainly never mentioned Hawks through Anima's Internship so far, and Tsukuyomi had heard nothing about the Ebony Hero from Hawks. And even for what little time Bin-Dude and Rope-Guy had been in the employ of Hawks as his Sidekicks, they hadn't heard Animal Spirit mentioned either... what little attention the Winged Hero had ever paid her any mind while they were signed on with his (very new) Agency, seemed to have been limited to when Hawks wasn't around either of them.

But suddenly now it seemed that both Pros were quite familiar with one another, almost extremely so...? Maybe even bordering...?

Because well- Hawks was speaking to her using nicknames, and was not at all formal, or even professional in his demeanor toward her. And even Animal Spirit's annoyance toward him wasn't formal in any way, shape or form.

 _... they seem... like really familiar with eachother..._

Spirit teeth grit further, feeling her face heat up and oh so very aware that both the Sidekicks and the Interns had been halted in their plans to start cleaning up, and were now watching her and Hawks just as much as the people behind the barricades were. And her annoyance surged all the more, and it took no small amount of self-control for her not to swipe some claws across Hawks' much too cheery, stupid god-damn smiling face.

 _I swear, he's doing it on purpose!_

"Stop talking, right bloody now." She hissed lowly, and he smiled some more, his head tilting ever so slightly. He lift both his hands in a sign of surrender, letting out an all too amused breath.

"As you wish~!" Hawks hummed,

"Uhm.. maybe we should... get back to it..?" Rope-Guy mumbled, smiling nervously as he ushered Tsukuyomi and Anima forward, Bin-Dude trailing behind them as they cautiously, but quickly moved away from the two Pros- casting questioning and surprised looks back all the way.

"- Though I did have another guess to throw your way about your #1, if you'd permit me, Spirit~" Hawks continued on, not at all interested in the four of them moving away, and Spirit hissed.

"Not right now." She shot back quickly, and he shrugged.

"Alrighty, I can wait~" He hummed, "I am glad I ran into you, though~! When I didn't get a reply from ya, I started to wonder if my messages ever went through at all~" Her eye twitched again, because not three seconds after she told him to shut up, he was already talking, and kept going.

 _I swear-_

"Did I not just tell you to shut it?" She muttered, and he paused, smiling a little sheepishly as his hand moved to grab the collar of his jacket. He pulled the collar over his mouth, quieting himself with a halfway embarrassed glance away from her, and she stiffened at the familiar gesture from the other night, her agitation dissipating nearly _entirely_ for about three seconds as she just stared.

She shook her head at herself hotly, hating the pause and not sure what had made it happen- but her agitation flared anew in no time at all, and she forgot about it.

"So you've been dodging around the city taking care of everything by yourself, and leaving everyone else behind to clean up your mess?" She asked lowly, the question coming out as a growl and he slowly looked back her way, blinking. "Do you really think that does anyone any good? Let alone leaving your Sidekicks and your Intern in your dust?" She hissed, and his hand slowly pulled his collar back from his face, his head tilting at her. "Have you even tried not to rush ahead of everyone? Huh, Bird-Boy?"

"... it's not really my fault if they can't keep up with me, Spirit." He hummed, her jaw snapped shut, her red eyes flashing at the answer. "And you can't really expect me to stick around waiting on them instead of working-" He hummed, and she felt her jaw clench hard enough to crack teeth.

"Did you forget what I fucking told you..?!" She snapped instantly, cutting him off before he ever finished the sentence, and he jumped a little.

Though her voice was nothing but angry, she was keeping it low enough not to let the crowds or anyone else hear the conversation... and he had to wonder if she was doing that on purpose, or subconsciously..?

"...Hmm?" Was all he manged to humm, that question lingering on his head a bit too much to really think about what she asked first- and she seemed all the more aggravated for it.

"I told you that you shouldn't judge the worth of other people on whether or not they can 'keep up with you'...!" She hissed. "And I also told you not to rush ahead into everything- and especially not all on your own, and when there are other people out here with your dumbass!"

He blinked again, looking a little surprised, before he let out a small breath and gave her a small smile- but it was lacking what childish mirth he always seemed to exude.

"Of course I haven't forgotten." He replied easily,

"Well you sure aren't acting like it...!" She snapped lowly, and he shook his head a little.

"Well it's just that I'm more efficient when I keep ahead, and I have other people to take care of the aftermath for me." He told her calmly, "I know that's not very 'sporty' of me in terms of teamwork or anything, but I do get to help a lot more people this way. And I don't ever leave anyone that's working with me in a situation that they can't handle safely on their own... I wouldn't just ditch them and leave them to deal with really nasty stuff, ya know." He set his hands in his jacket pockets and kept on smiling at her in that calm, level way. "Plus I always leave a feather to hang back with my Sidekicks, that way I always know if something bad happens while I'm not with them. It's not like I'm ignoring them completely, gimme a little credit would you?" Spirit grimaced, her red eyes narrowing to slits at him.

"... tch, I don't care if you're keeping an eye on them or not, it doesn't make it better." She muttered, "You still shouldn't leave them behind so much, do you have any idea how it probably feels for them? To think you're only working to clean up someone else's mess? And someone who doesn't even seem to care enough to spend more than five minutes with you at a time?"

"... well to be honest, I'm not sure that really bothers me or not." He replied honestly, and she stiffened. "I mean I get what you're saying, Spirit, but it's worth more to me to be as effective as I can, and to save as many people as I can... they're still helping, providing backup and dealing with the aftermath, shouldn't that be enough? That we're both doing some good, even if I keep ahead and they lag behind? Hurt feelings or not?" He paused, sighing again as she kept a narrow stare on him. "... besides, it doesn't do more good for me to stick around and keep a close eye on all of them. They're totally capable of handling things by themselves, what good does it do for me to watch their every move, and baby them?"

"Tch, there is a difference between being courteous, and hand-holding." Spirit muttered lowly, "Yes, they can handle themselves fine, but you could try to be a bit more thoughtful about how you treat your Sidekicks. They aren't just backup for you, they can be more than that if you let them be." His head tilted, his smile gone now as he just listened, and she growled at him. "Taking an extra minute or two to stay with them instead of rushing off right away can go a long ways. And that's not 'babying' in any way, shape or form."

"Hmm, I suppose I can see your point, Spirit." He hummed softly, "Though honestly, I'm surprised to hear all of this coming from you... I mean you really aren't known for working well with other people~"

"No, but I can work with them if I need to, and I do. And they'll work with me too, instead of avoiding me whenever they can." She shot back lowly, "The way you're going, nobody is gonna want to work with you- they're all gonna think you're a prat who treats people like trash, and who doesn't even seem to have enough time to work with your own Intern..!"

"Hmm? Who says I'm not?" He replied easily, she shook her head.

"Because he told me you've been doing this rush ahead and leave everyone behind thing for the last three days!" She replied quickly, "And he wouldn't have even had to say anything- if I bothered to look at the news about you for the week, I would have hashed it together myself! Because you _always_ do this with everyone who works with you!" She waved a hand at him rather dismissively, "I don't even know why I'm surprised! If you won't change your habits between the different Sidekicks you have had, why would you change with an Intern?" She grumbled hotly, and he smiled, just barely.

"Wow, you're really worked up about this, huh Spirit?" He asked easily, and she glared at him. "Well, if it will help anything- I _am_ trying to teach him something. A bit of tough love maybe, but the kid will learn more if he has the tenacity to keep striving to catch up to me. Show a bit of determination, harden his resolve, and if he does that he'll be better off for it in the end."

This time Spirit paused, for quite a bit, her mouth snapping shut and her eyes narrowing further as she just stared at him, silent. She did nothing, she just stood there, quiet as can be and her anger seeming to wane a little bit too- though something else worked it's way into her eyes, and it was something Hawks couldn't quite put his finger on... and man, he really tried to understand it.

 _Mystery as always_

"... tough love." She murmured at last, and he nodded. But her eyes narrowed further, cold and icy now, and he blinked at it. "... is that really what you're doing? Pushing and pushing at him, hoping he'll just keep pushing back at you? Until eventually he bucks up and surprises, or impresses you? Just on the idea, that in the end, making this so hard will be better for him in the future...?"

"You got it~" He hummed, nodding. Though to be fairly honest- he was a tiny bit surprised she had understood what he meant so quickly...

"... tch, what happens if you keep pushing and he doesn't do better?" She grumbled, "What happens if you keep on, and everything you do, just breaks him?" He paused, his little bit of mirth dying again at the question.

"... Well, if he 'breaks', then it probably wasn't gonna work out anyway." Hawks hummed after a moment, and Spirit's eyes flashed, her shoulders stiffening and he noticed the change in posture... and this time what he saw in her expression, was _definitely_ what he had seen when she got all mad at him back in the park- about his sort-of-spying. The long since buried things, deep and dark and twisty things, and what little easy-going attitude he had managed the whole time died altogether. His expression fell, turning to something unreadable, and he met her gaze quietly.

 _... but why did that show up again, just now...?_

"... he's a kid, Hawks." Spirit hissed, her voice dropping to something so low and so tense, and he felt his stomach knot slightly. He bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes locked with hers and searching- for something, anything... before he let out a soft breath.

"I know." He murmured, "But I am just trying to help him out. It might be a little harsh, and it might suck, but it does make a difference... even if he breaks a little, as long as he keeps going, and gets back up again, it'll make him better, and stronger." Spirit hissed, low and her red eyes glittering as she shook her head at him rather curtly.

"Is that how _you_ learned?" She asked, and he blinked in surprise at the question. "By being pushed harder and harder until you broke? Pushed passed your breaking point, got back up again, and then pushed harder still? Until eventually it was either get up and deal with it, or give up? Until you were either better, or just not gonna 'work out'?" He paused, biting the inside of his cheek again, his own eyes narrowing.

"Yeah." Hawks murmured flatly, and she shook her head furiously this time, uncaring of what uncharacteristically stony look had appeared on his face just then.

"Well then _you_ of all people should know, that is an absolute shit way to teach someone..!" She told him hotly, "Did you like learning like that? If you had the choice to change it, wouldn't you have loved it if things had been different? If someone hadn't treated you like some doll to kick around and prod with, until they got something they liked..?! Ever thought maybe you didn't have to get pushed until you broke just to get a point across?! That you didn't have to live through all the bruises, and the broken bones, and the fear that it'd never be enough..?! That maybe you didn't have to keep living through hell and maybe you'd never live up to it..?!"

His expression fell blank as he faced the now ranting Ebony Hero, her body rigid and her voice low yet no less fervent in all her anger. She was _yelling_ at him, yet she kept her voice down so no one else could hear her. She could have been throwing her arms around, pointing at him, been giving into the heated animation her emotions would have allowed- but she was still and stiff-shouldered as she stared him down, and he couldn't look away. For the second time since meeting her, he was lost for words, and his mind was reeling... because she was so genuine, and so stern, and so vibrant.

And he _knew_ that look. He recognized that tone of voice. The emotions, they were familiar... And her words... they were thoughts and things he was all _too_ accustomed with.

But he'd never expected them to be repeated by _her,_ not in a million years.. and suddenly when he looked at her, for the first time he felt he did understand the mysterious, aloof, and utterly enigmatic Animal Spirit. Just a little.

And he did not expect _that_... ever.

His eyes flashed, his face falling slack as he felt his shoulders tense slightly, a knot working it's way into his stomach that he had to swallow back at.

 _... Spirit..._

"Didn't you ever wonder if it was really worth it, to go through all of that bullshit...?! You can learn the same shit and be just as good and 'better for it' without having to get broken down and feel like crap!" She kept on, "You don't have to push someone until they break in order to make them stronger! You don't have to be an ass and act like one in order to get a point across either! You can be kinder and go easier on people, and you will get the same results- _better_ results even! Because you _didn't_ tear them down in the process! And being broken like that never fucking goes away, no matter if you get back up or not!" This time her hand did move off her hip again, and she waved a hand at him hotly, "Don't try and teach that kid the same way you learned, you bloody idiot! You should know better, and you should want to _not_ repeat all the fucking crap you had to go through to get here!"

She stopped finally, huffing a little and gritting her teeth as a heavy silence fell between them again and her hushed ranting to him came to a close. She kept her glare settled on him though, her hand falling on her hip again and her gaze like daggers as he returned the look and... he looked so calm, and maybe even a little shocked... and sad too.

 _... wait, what? Why the fuck does he look sad?_

But that faded from his expression quickly enough, and his lips pulled at the corners in some small, ghost of a sullen little smile. His eyes dropped closed as he let out a small breath, and his wings pulled up a little behind him, the vermilion feathers ruffling as the wind picked up, and the scent of rain that had been hanging on the air got all the heavier.

The silence got broken by the rumble of thunder overhead, and the grey sky got washed out by a jagged arc of lightning for a few seconds. Spirit's eyes narrowed at him, not sure what... well what is he doing? He's just standing there and he's so... quiet.

 _He's **never** quiet_

"... heh, I think I'm slowly starting to understand you a bit more, Spirit." He said at length, his voice wispy and she blinked several times at it. "... though honestly... you just keep surprising me... you're really nothing like I figured, or assumed."

She went rigid, her eyes widening and a cold lump falling into her stomach at the words, her thoughts immediately racing with memory of a certain armored Hero-

 **.:+:.**

 _Ingenium's eyes flashed a little, his expression pulling a bit in pain and thought, before let out a shaky sigh. "... Y...ou... are very... Hard... To get... A b...bead... on... Animal... Spirit..." He mumbled softly, "... You... Sur...prise... Me..."_

 _"... Y... ou're... Noth...ing... Like...I...i...ve... Ass...u...med..." Ingenium mumbled, raspy and harsh._

 **.:+:.**

She swallowed, hard, her lungs stalling for a second as she stared at him, and she hated that he'd managed to bring that memory back- she hadn't wanted to touch it. But how... how could Hawks say the same thing...?

 _... what... what does that even mean..?_

Hawks smiled a bit to himself, shaking his head once and finally glancing back up at her, his eyes glittering behind his visor. ".. That's okay though." He assured her lightly, and she swallowed again, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "I'm liking the Spirit that I'm getting to know better... and I was right, ya know~" He chuckled, "You do have a heart of gold, buried under all that dark and mysteriousness of yours~!"

 _How... how is he back to seeming so.. calm about all of it...?_

 _I just snapped his head off for like ten minutes... and he... what the fuck..?!_

She was reeling more than she liked, her thoughts and her emotions struggling to come to terms with any of it- because he just didn't make any fucking sense, damn it!

"And trust me, I hear you." Hawks added, a bit more seriously this time around and she stiffened again. "I guess old habits are hard to break...! But I think you're right, and it'd be pretty bad of me not to give what you said a go, at least~" He told her softly, and her eyes flashed, her heart skipping a beat.

A cold splash of water hit her nose, followed by several more as the rain started to fall around them, slow and sparse- but slowly getting harder, and yet neither she nor Hawks moved. They just stood there, their eyes locked, Hawks calm and so very at ease now, but a little less bright maybe. And Spirit, rigid in place, her mind reeling, and her expression as flat as can be, unable to really process the change from him, or what had set it off. But her thoughts did ring with those two words... those so very weighty words.

 _Trust me_

"But I'll give it a go, yeah~?" He kept on, "I won't say I'll be very good at it, though, hehe~! I'm kinda like an old dog- it's hard to teach me new tricks~! But for you, I will do my best to change a little, okay~?" He chuckled, and she blinked. "And it's pretty impressive for me to say that, ya know~! I'm not so good at listening to what other people want me to do~! But for you Sunshine, I'll totally try~! And I even think following your lead might do me some good~!"

The rain fell harder, and he smiled at her, stepping closer to her a pace and she reflexively stiffened, though her mind was still reeling too much to let her back off. So she stayed stuck in place, the distance between them cutting down to half a foot, as his wings moved up and extended out- circling either side of her and lifting over her head to block to bulk of the droplets from hitting her, and himself. He lift a hand and pushed the spare bits of blonde locks back from his forehead after getting pulled down by the moisture, and smiled a little wider, letting out a small chuckle and she felt his hot breath wash up against her face.

"So that in mind, how about it Spirit~?" He asked lightly, and she swallowed, her thoughts finally beginning to settle, though very slowly.

 _... how... about it...? About.. what...?_

"How about we do a little joint training? You, me, and our Interns~! Between the two of us, we oughtta come up with something interesting for those two kids to do, huh~?" He hummed brightly, and she blinked again, her eyes widening as her senses finally began to catch up with her.

 _Wait, what..?!_

"It can be anything you want, a joint patrol, simple training, or maybe even a little Intern vs Intern action~" Hawks continued, "Oh~! Maybe we can do an overnight kinda thing, change up working hours~? There'll be a lot for us to do later in the day as the sun goes down~!"

"... are you... serious...?" Spirit muttered after a minute, and he nodded.

"Of course I am~! I wouldn't joke about this with you, Sunshine~!" He answered, easily as ever, and she stared, at this point far more confused than angry. "Come on, what better way to help me change things, than to be there yourself~? Plus it'll be fun~!"

She sighed, her hand coming up off her hip and pinching the bridge of her nose as she grumbled to herself, shaking her head once or twice and scrunching her eyes closed for a few seconds.

She hadn't any clue what that was... the whole look, the response to her ranting, the change... and him suddenly asking for a team-up was way out of left field and she just... she didn't know how to handle it, like at all.

She had no real want to spend any lengthy amount of time with him, especially not now after he'd gone and worked her up all over again. And she certainly didn't want to spend any time trying to 'help him change' or any of what he was blabbing about... because what even was that?

Change? Change the way he was handling this Intern thing? Teaching the poor kid? To try and change and not be the ass he was being so far...?

 _... I'm not even sure of what I'm doing in teaching Anima anything... even having said all the crap I just did, I'm not even an expert... and Hawks is a whole other issue._

 _I mean he just admitted it, he sucks at taking direction from people... hell, I already knew that...! So what good would being around him do?_

 _Just because he says he's willing to try and do what I said, doesn't mean he's gonna do it..!_

 _... but shit... how much better are things gonna get if I don't at least try and humor him...?_

 _... at least if I'm around, he might actually pay some attention to his Intern..._

She let out long, low breath, chewing on the inside of both cheeks.

 _... I'm gonna hate myself..._ _.. but maybe it'll be a good experience...? For Anima at least... and Tsukuyomi... about working with other people...?_

"... I... _might_ be able to be convinced..." She started slowly, her eyes still closed and missing the way his eyes seemed to light up at that, tentative as the answer was. "... but we have to hash everything out beforehand... and I have to make anything we do is within the bounds of the Internship itself... and that Anima is okay with it." She mumbled, looking up at last and her hand falling away from her face, only to see him nearly beaming.

 _... ugh..._

"Sounds perfect to me, Sunshine~! And I totally understand~!" He nearly chirped, his wings still stationary overhead fluttering a bit and earning a cold spray of water to drop down on her head and shoulders- though he certainly didn't seem to notice it. "Wanna hang out for a bit and talk things through~? Maybe catch a bite to eat, somewhere out of the rain~? My treat~!"

She grimaced, grumbling under her breath as she pulled her phone from the pocket and her suit and looked at the time;

 _4:27_

 _... shit... we still need to get to the train station..._

Her eyes narrowed, biting the inside of her lip when she caught sight of the notification for Death Arms' text, and she felt her stomach knot just a little bit more.

 _Right... I still have to see what that's about too... oh fuck me..._

She turned the phone screen off again and replaced it back in her pocket, shaking her head. "... I can't, I need to be somewhere at 6." She murmured, "And I still need to take Anima back to the train station for the night. Official hours for him end at 5."

"Hmm, okay then how about we meet up after your done with your thing at 6?" Hawks asked, and she shook her head again.

"... no... it goes long, it'll be too late to meet up afterward." She murmured, he tilted his head.

"Hmm? What are you up to that goes so late, huh Sunshine~?" He asked curiously, and she cast him a small glare.

"None of your business." She muttered sharply, and he blinked, before smiling.

"Forget I asked~!" He hummed, she let out a breath.

 _... I have so little time to do this... I already hate myself._

"... look Feathers, if we're gonna do anything with you, I'd be more interested in trying out a night patrol sort of deal." She started slowly, "It's different to patrol at night than it is in the day, and it'll probably be a good experience for both Anima and Tsukuyomi to go through. That way they can see what the difference is like, and how activity with Villains and accidents shift for the different times of day." He nodded, smiling still.

"Sounds like a good plan to me~" He hummed, and she sighed.

"... yeah well doing that means I have to change the hours I have Anima working with me." She mumbled, "... which I can do, but I have to have permission from his mother. So I'll have to have him run it by her first, before we set anything in stone... but for now I'd probably be trying to set it for 5pm to midnight, or 1 at the latest."

"Gotcha~!" He replied, "Tsukuyomi and I can do any time ya like, Sunshine~! Since he's staying with me at my Agency Building for the week, our schedules are totally open~!" She nodded slightly. He smiled a bit more, snapping his fingers as if a thought suddenly occurred to him, and she blinked at it. "Oh~! Here's an idea~! You and your kid could spend the night with us, instead of having to go home at 1 in the morning~!" He chirped, and Spirit paused, her eyes narrowing at him. "I've got plenty of space in the building, and I'd be totally down to have you two crash there for the night~" She bit the inside of her cheek, suppressing a sigh.

 _... of I'd bet you'd just love that, wouldn't you Bird-Brain?_

"... yeah, gonna have to pass." She grumbled and Hawks chuckled at the answer,

"Ouch! That was a real quick rejection there, Spirit~! I don't bite you know~!" He laughed, before his smile shifted into something a little more sly, and his eyes flashed behind his visor. "Well, not unless you're into that sort of thing~" He added coolly, and she bristled.

"Shut the fuck up, you bloody perv!" She snapped hotly, her face flushing despite her wanting it not too, and he just seemed all the more amused with it.

 _I hate it when he says shit like that! And he totally does it on purpose!_

"Hehe, okay, okay~!" He chuckled, "But the offer will stay open, if you change your mind~"

"Not likely..!" She hissed lowly, and he shrugged.

"Ah well~" He hummed, "So you gotta ask your kid for his mom's permission, I totally get that~! And I know you got places to be Spirit, so how are we gonna hash out the rest of the plan~?" He asked, redirecting back to the matter at hand and she huffed.

"... once I know what his mother says, I will let you know. And we can figure out everything else from there, via messaging." She grumbled, and he nodded.

"I shall keep a ready eye on my phone then, and await your messages with bated breath~!" He murmured, and she sighed silently.

 _He's a total child_

 _... what have I gotten myself into...?_

 **.:+:.**

"There's my phone number, let me know what your mother says about staying the night out with me, alright?" Spirit murmured softly, handing Anima's phone back to him after he'd given it to her so she could put her number in his contacts. "We won't be doing anything different than what we have been for patrol during the day, it'll just be for a different stretch of hours, and we'll be doing it on a joint basis with Hawks and his Intern. And you'll meet up with me closer to 5, instead of starting off in the morning." She explained, and he took his phone back, nodding in understanding.

They were standing off to the side on the platform of the train station, having arrived there and left Hawks, his Sidekicks, and Tsukuyomi behind once time to head away came around. She and Hawks had hashed out a little bit more about what the tentative plan for tomorrow was, but nothing too much- since she still had to get the okay from Anima and his mother.

So she'd explained it all to the boy as they walked to the station, and he listened in surprise and interest. He seemed willing to go along with the idea (and maybe even a little excited too... since he'd be around one of his classmates for the excursion), and he'd assured her that his mother likely wouldn't have any issue with the plan. Even the idea of working late into the night didn't seem to give him much pause, and she was a little surprised at that herself... naturally so, since she'd purposely changed her regular hero hours just so he wouldn't have to work the Pro Hero 'graveyard' shift.

"I will contact you as soon as I have an answer, Spirit-Sensei..!" He assured softly, and she nodded.

"Alright. And I'll text you with further details, once everything gets a little more figured out." She told him, and he nodded again. "Get home safe, okay? And good work again, for today." She smiled slightly, and he smiled back.

"T-thank you..!" He chirped softly, before heading off and waving goodbye, and boarding the waiting train. She stood alone on the platform, waiting until the train pulled away, before she turned and headed back out of the station. She headed off into the rain for only a few moments, before her body got swept up in a black-red haze and she lifted into the chilly air, her wings immediately slick with the rain, but it slid off her ebony feathers with ease.

She didn't go very far though, and she didn't intend to. She landed on the roof of a nearby, several-story building and pressed herself against the wall near the access door, and under the lip it provided so she was out of the rain. She wouldn't head home just yet, she'd rather not spend the flight home worried about whatever it was Death Arms wanted to talk about... so she found this quiet spot all by herself, so she could call him right away (and in doing so, ignoring his warning not to 'rush').

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened it up, easily dialing up Death Arms' number and her foot tapping against the gravel roof a bit pensively as she waited on the ringer.

 _... what on earth could he want to talk about...? To ask me to call him directly...?_

 _... he never asks me to call unless it's something important..._

The phone rang a few times, before cutting off as he picked up the other end. "Spirit." His voice floated through the speaker, steady as ever and she nodded subconsciously in reaction to her name.

"Yeah, you told me to call?" She murmured, leaning against the wall a little and staring out into the rain. "Is something.. wrong...?" She asked slowly, and she heard him sigh a little on the other end.

"Are you alone?" He asked without answering her question, and she stiffened.

"... yeah.. why?" She murmured, "Did something happen-?"

"It's not what you're thinking Spirit, this is just a conversation you probably don't want to have around other people." He replied, and she blinked.

"... ah, okay...? So what's it about..?" She pressed again, and there was a pause from him that seemed a little too lengthy.

"Ingenium." He told her softly, and she went rigid, her heart skipping a beat and her breath snatched away in an instant. A shiver ran up her spine and her grip on her phone tightened without her meaning it to.

 _I.. Igenium..?_

"... he called me, Spirit." Death Arms went on, all to aware her end of the call had gone much too quiet. "He was trying to get ahold of you, but since you don't have an Agency he went through me... he wants to talk to you, Spirit. And meet up with you face to face, preferably."

She swallowed, her eyes falling to the ground and red eyes glittering in the dull and haze of the rain. Her core knotted so tightly just then she felt nauseous, and she held her breath against the sensation for much longer than was probably wise... she felt like she couldn't breathe, and she didn't dare try.

This... this was the _last_ thing she would have expected the conversation to be about.

She shuddered, her teeth gritting and her eyes scrunching tight against another wave of nausea that hit her with a fervor, and she hated it... because she couldn't stop it.

 _W..why am I.. reacting like...?_

Her free hand moved up and covered her mouth, her knees bending as she slid down the wall into sitting on the floor, her head bowing enough her forehead pressed against her knees.

 _...s..shit... you... you know why... Spirit..._

She could feel blood on her hands, sticky and warm and so much of it... hear wheezy breaths and the stain of crimson across shattered armor. Feel his broken body under her touch, the pressure of blood trying to rise up, oozing through her fingers-

 _-shit, stop... stop..!_

She'd been trying to keep it out of her head for the last week- and she had, she'd ignored it, so why... why did it have to come back now...?

 _S..shit..._

"... Spirit?" Death Arms said softly, the pause stretching a little too long, and he could only imagine what she was doing on her end. Naturally, after having seen the way she had pretty much broken down that night at the bar, after it all happened... he'd not been looking forward to passing Ingenium's wish to speak with her along, because he was entirely sure she had been doing her best to just pick up and forget about the Stain thing altogether. And bringing it up again, forcing her into facing it- it was probably gonne hit hard.

And he was right, she had been trying to just forget about it, in her own way. And she did it because when she remembered it, or thought about it- this happened. This nauseous, terrible feeling, this... this...

She shook her head, trying to rid the thoughts and stop... _crap, my hands are shaking._

 _... he wants... to see me...?_

 _...I... fuck... I..._

"... I... I don't think I can..." She hissed, taking in a breath of air for the first time in what felt like years. "... I just... I can't." She breathed, damn it even her voice was shaking.

"... I understand you don't want to, but you can't avoid it, Spirit." Death Arms told her steadily, "Despite everything that happened, you did save his life. Even if you don't feel you deserve it, he wants to thank you... and you should let him." She shook her head again, a bit hotly this time, even though it was useless as he couldn't see her do it. "... You should see him, Spirit. For both his sake, and yours... you can't ignore it forever, and it might help you sift through everything you've been worked up about, since that night."

"... tch... it's not that simple..." She hissed, "... I... talking about it, or seeing him... it's not gonna help... it'll just make it harder..."

"... but it's gonna eat at you if you don't try." Death Arms pointed out lowly. "Look... I can't force you to do anything you don't want to... but my advice is you should call him. Set up a meeting, talk... if only just to get it over and done with."

She scrunched her eyes closed harder, her teeth gritting and quiet.

Somewhere she knew he had a point... he always had a point, but this was-

 _... this just isn't something I can... handle right now... not right now._

"... I'm going to send you his number, Spirit. When you're ready, call him."

 _... what if I'm never ready...?_

"... I... I'll... try..." She managed to mutter after awhile, ".. Thanks for... warning me... but... I gotta go..."

"You sure..?" He asked, but honestly she just wanted the conversation to end.

"... yeah... just... I'll talk to you... some other time... just... not tonight..." She breathed, and he paused, before letting out a small breath on the other end.

"... alright... be careful, Spirit. And try and take it easy."

She ended the call, dropping the phone into her lap and wrapping her arms around her knees, pulling them into her chest. She held her breath again, hating her shaking hands and body, hating the turmoil suddenly sent alight in her core, and hating... hating all of it.

This, and earlier with Hawks, and the nightmare-

Her shoulders hunched, sucking in a sharp breath of air that hitched in her throat.

 _... it's just... too much at once... shit._

* * *

 **Hello~!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the double update~! I had to split the 14th chapter into two parts cause it got way too long XD**

 **Please, follow, fav and Review if you can! Thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16- Know

**Chapter 16**

 **Know**

 **.:+:.**

 _... I should never have..._

 **.:+:.**

 _Hawkward_

 _Anima's mum is alright with moving the  
_ _hours for tomorrow, so let's plan to do  
_ _a joint patrol from 5pm to midnight. If at  
_ _all possible, I would rather stay in Heiku  
_ _for patrol._

 _...  
_ _Sweet~! 5-12 is good with us, Sunshine~!  
_ _And we can stay in Heiku, no problem~!  
_ _Probably better that way, we can all  
_ _meet up at my Agency Building~!_

 _...  
_ _Your Agency is located in Heiku?_

 _...  
_ _Yep~! I bought it middle of last week,  
_ _so you'll have to forgive me it's still  
_ _a bit in the works and not fully finished  
_ _just yet~! But I got it for a pretty good  
_ _price, and it should be totally up and  
_ _running real quick~!_

 _...  
_ _What possessed you to buy a building  
_ _in Heiku? You don't even normally  
_ _patrol that area._

 _...  
_ _Well Heiku's been growing on me!  
_ _And there's lots of cool stuff around  
_ _it~!_

 _...  
_ _If you say so_

 _...  
_ _It's true! I've found lots of interesting  
_ _things in Heiku~  
_ _Plus the building is settled at a  
_ _pretty good vantage point between  
_ _Heiku, Hosu and Kamino Ward, so I  
_ _can keep extra eye on all those places,  
_ _and wing it between them real easy!_

 _...  
_ _That makes a lot more sense on why  
_ _to settle in Heiku than it just being  
_ _an 'interesting' place, Feathers._

 _...  
_ _Fair enough ~!  
_ _But anyway, I'll send you the address  
_ _and we can all meet up there before  
_ _heading out on patrol~!_

 _...  
_ _Fine_

 _...  
_ _And don't forget, my offer for you  
_ _and your Intern to spend the night  
_ _is still open ~!_

 _...  
_ _Don't hold your breath Feathers, it's  
_ _not gonna happen._

 _...  
_ _Ah come on~! It'll be fun, ya know~!  
_ _We could all pile in sleeping bags,  
_ _tell scary stories and eat smores~!  
_ _That's gotta be at least a little tempting!_

 _...  
_ _Yeah, if you're like eight years old_

 _...  
_ _Harsh!  
_ _But I get your point, you want something  
_ _a little more adult, huh~? I can certainly  
_ _accommodate~! You know, once the  
_ _kiddos have been tucked in bed~_

Spirit's jaw snapped shut rather audibly, her teeth gritting and glaring at the phone in hand as she fought the urge to mutter a few curses aloud. It wouldn't do to start cursing in the middle of her shift at the bar, it was already bad enough she was on her phone- _but damn this Bird-Brain._

Her eyes dropped closed for a few seconds as she did her utmost to squash that bubbling anger in her core, her hand shaking as she gripped the phone harder.

 _He's impossible... He's seriously impossible_

 _Why does he have to say shit like that...?!_

She shook her head hotly and quickly tapped her thumbs against the keyboard, grumbling all the while.

 _Hawkward_

 _...  
_ _Harsh!  
_ _But I get your point, you want something  
_ _a little more adult, huh~? I can certainly  
_ _accommodate~! You know, once the  
_ _kiddos have been tucked in bed~_

 _...  
_ _This conversation is over. And quit  
_ _pushing your luck, Feather-Fuck._

 _...  
_ _That's a very interesting nickname  
_ _given the current topic of conversation,  
_ _Sunshine~_

 _...  
_ _Stop talking. I'm not going to reply  
_ _to anymore of your bullshit tonight._

She smashed the lock button on the phone and shut the screen off, only to feel it vibrate in her hand a few seconds later- he'd sent a reply in as quick a time as ever, but she stuffed her phone in her back pocket and ignored it.

 _He's such a skeevy prat... Ugh, why do I even tolerate him...?!_

...Though to be entirely honest, even Hawks' stupid and crude comments were something of a welcome distraction from what terrible twisted knot was still settled in her core from earlier. You know, the call she had with Death Arms, and concerning the utterly unpleasant idea that she would have to face the one person that right now... She just felt she couldn't face.

It had taken her longer than she would like to admit to get off that roof and go home. And the whole way there, and her flight through the rain, she'd been so wrapped up in her own head that the journey was a big blur, and the getting ready for work at the club was just as bad. She couldn't shake that terrible twisted sensation in her stomach no matter how hard she tried, and it was harder than anything not to let it show outwardly.

She felt like a big, knotted, tense ball of too many emotions to count, and it was exhausting. That and her mind was racing a million miles an hour, looping on end back to what Hawks had said after she snapped at him, why he changed so suddenly, and then to Igenium, that day with Stain, the daunting idea of seeing him again... and then to the nightmare and a slew of things and thoughts and memories she just didn't want to touch.

And trying to pry her thoughts away from them all? That was ten times more exhausting... and infuriating, because it was a fruitless venture. She felt dead on her feet and she wanted sleep. She had gotten to the point where she was afraid she might just doze off if she let herself sit down or take a break.

All of it had sapped her energy, all the worrying and the questions, and the training too... though grant you, feeling so tired might have just been from regular sleep-deprivation.

 _I have been awake since 4 this morning... small solace I'll actually have plenty of time to sleep tonight, after my shift. Since I won't be meeting Anima at 8 in the morning._

She sighed, dropping her hands on her hips and shaking her head a little.

 _... though of course that just reminds me that I'm gonna have to deal with Feathers tomorrow... him and his stupid comments._

 _... whatever... at least the club's been slower than it has been the last few days, because of the storm outside._

And it had been much slower than the past few nights, the bustling tempo that was common of the happy hour was whittled down to something like a plain old Wednesday evening. Which meant it was busy enough to keep her on her feet, but not so much she was moving back and forth without end. There were people in here, about fifty or so, and there was a sporadic stream of them in and out the door (grumbling against the storm awaiting them outside, and others dropping water on floor in front of the door as they came in). Though they were all mostly amusing themselves out on the floor and with the tables and the stage, only half a dozen or so at a time stayed at the bartop for her to serve... and that was fine, at least they kept her somewhat busy- and Okita running drinks on to the floor helped too.

The young girl wasn't as busy as she had been the last few days, and that meant she was hanging out more behind the bar with Spirit. Though still nervous as Okita was, she hadn't really been up to talking all that much. And Spirit left it alone, though she kept a close eye on her nonetheless... another distraction from the thoughts and tension that was sorely needed.

"Ah? Kage, you look like you're blushin' rather hard there!"

Spirit blinked, stiffening slightly at the comment and quickly looking left toward the owner of the voice- Bisha, who had popped herself around the corner and to Spirit's side of the bar. She planted herself on Spirit's left, leaning against the counter with her elbow, smirking. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, leaning away from the woman as Bisha leaned in a bit toward her, smiling coyly.

 _Blushing...?_

Spirit grit her teeth, grumbling silently to herself as she kept her face as straight as possible- though in an instant she knew that Bisha was referring to that goddamn heat she'd felt wash over her cheeks when reading Hawks' stupid message about 'adult' things.

 _Damn you Bird-Boy_

"Hmm? You up to something saucy, texting whoever that is on your phone?" Bisha hummed brightly, pointing a finger at her and twirling it slightly, "A guy perhaps?" She asked, and Spirit groaned internally.

 _Seriously, damn you Feathers_

"No, nothing 'saucy' of the sort." Spirit replied coolly, looking away from Bisha and picking up a glass from the sink to dry it. "And he's nobody special, it was just the delivery guy who's bringing a new nightstand to my apartment tomorrow." Spirit explained, the lies rolling off her tongue like it was nothing. Flawless even... But of course Bisha wasn't gonna drop the subject so easily, even if Spirit's execution of the lie didn't give Bisha any reason not to believe it.

"Ah, well that's awfully boring, Kage." Bisha chuckled, "But I'm not gonna drop it so quick~! Come on, there's gotta be something juicy going on, why else are you so flushed~?"

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, cursing Hawks and his stupid comments one last time, before shaking her head and offering a small smile up to Bisha.

"Couldn't tell you, 'cause there really isn't anything interesting going on." She replied lightly, her eyes leaving Bisha as she finished drying the glass in hand and stacked it. Spirit shrugged slightly, busying herself with pulling the dirty cups and whatnot that Okita brought back on her tray, the young girl stopping on Spirit's opposite shoulder from where Bisha was. "It's probably just because it's so stuffy in here." Spirit added as an (almost) afterthought, and Bisha narrowed her eyes at it, looking pensive.

"Hmm... I mean I guess." Bisha mumbled, "But it's always a bit stuffy in here, Kage, and I've never seen it make you flush." She commented, Spirit simply shrugged again, still focused on the dishes.

 _... Hopefully she just drops it...? I mean any redness is gonna go away in a minute or two... It was just because of Feathers' stupid comments..._

And sure enough, as a few more moments went by, Spirit could feel the lingering heat in her face fade to nothing- and surely whatever flush Bisha had noticed went away too.

"Key, Kage." Bisha said after a moment or two of silence, and Spirit spared a sideways glance at her.

"Hmm?"

"Face me, please~" Bisha hummed, pushing herself up from having been leaning on the counter. Spirit blinked in surprise at the request, before letting out a small breath and putting down what she was doing, turning to face Bisha all the way.

"Alright, but what for?" She murmured and Bisha waved a hand a bit, ignoring the question for now and peering around Spirit toward Okita behind her a bit.

"Okita~! Come here a minute, will you please~?" Bisha asked lightly, and the young girl jumped a little, looking nervous and unsure, before nodding stiffly and rounding Spirit to stand at Bisha's shoulder instead. Spirit watched quietly, brow quirking at the two as Bisha turned Okita to face Spirit, so both of them were facing her now.

 _Okay..?_

"Look at Kage, does she look a little pale to you?" Bisha asked of the younger, though her eyes were scanning Kage quite intently even as she said the words. Spirit blinked,

 _Pale..?_

Okita looked unsure for a moment, her own eyes searching for a few seconds before offering up a tentative nod. "O-oh... Maybe a little...?" She murmured, and Bisha frowned.

"Yeah." She mumbled, her hand suddenly raising and moving toward Spirit without warning. Spirit had to stop herself from reflexively pulling away, and simply bit the inside of her cheek as Bisha's hand pressed lightly against her forehead. "You feeling okay, Kage? You're kinda warm..."

Spirit stepped back a little to force Bisha's hand to pull away and nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes I feel fine, don't worry about it." She replied with ease.

 _Well not fine... More like a big stress ball ready to fall asleep- but not sick or anything._

"Honestly I am okay. It's nothing to concern yourself over." Spirit assured, returning to cleaning up the rest of the glasses. "Maybe we can steer the conversation to something else? Surely you can find something more interesting to talk about than me." Spirit chuckled lightly, and Bisha paused, her face scrunching up in thought while Okita stood by unsure- but Bisha smiled and nodded after a moment anyway.

"Okay, if you're sure Kage! Just don't work to hard if you start feeling bad, kay?" Bisha asked, and Spirit nodded.

 _Unnecessary warning- but whatever._

"Alright, I won't."

"Good! Now- Okita! I do have something I wanna talk about with you~!" Bisha announced brightly, turning to the younger girl and earning a nervous and surprised look.

"M-me...?" Okita stammered,

"Yep~! You saw the feed on Animal Spirit tonight, yeah~?" Bisha asked, and Spirit's hands jerked a little in her drying, her eye twitching as she glared at the glass she held on to.

 _Oh of course it's too much to ask we **not** talk about **me**... damn it_

"O-oh, you mean the one about her and Hawks...?" Okita asked softly, Bisha smiled.

"The very one~!" Bisha trilled, "You saw the pic that guy sent out, yeah? Where Hawks put his wings up around him and Animal Spirit?" Okita nodded slightly and Spirit blinked, her brow quirking though she never spared another glance back up at the two of them. "What do you think that was about? Looked a little intimate to me~!"

 _Intimate?_

"... U-uhm... I'm just sure he was trying to... help block the rain..." Okita replied uncertainly, blushing a bit as she looked away from Bisha altogether.

"Hmm? I dunno, it kinda looked like the thing he'd try to do so he could steal a kiss away from the eyes of the crowd~!" Bisha told her in a sing-song sort of way, and Spirit felt her jaw lock.

 _Steal a kiss?!_

She spared a sideways glance at them this time, eyes narrowed to slits and grumbling under her breath. Okita went bright red, flustered as all hell suddenly and pulling at her bangs in that same nervous tick she had had from the beginning.

"Come on! You must be on top of all the news about her and Hawks, since you're such a huge Animal Spirit fan, yeah~?" Bisha kept on, "I mean you know all about the rumors that they might be starting up a relationship, huh~? They went out on a coffee date a few days ago, yeah~!?"

 _Fucking hell... all that rumor shit is going wild, and it's totally off base..!_

 _It was not a goddamn coffee date!_

"W-we don't know that it was a d-date...!" Okita answered quickly, shaking her head a little. "T-They could have just been taking a break... a.. a normal break...! A-After patrolling...!"

 _And thank you Okita, my unexpected voice of reason!_

"Hmm, but why would they be spending so much time together all of a sudden~?" Bisha countered, and Okita wrung her hands together.

"W-Well... Animal Spirit is an Independent Pro... she's not part... of an Agency or anything... m... maybe Hawks is trying to scout her...? Y-you know... for his new Agency..." Okita suggested, and Spirit sighed internally.

 _... that's not what's going on, but I like that reasoning better than automatically jumping to the conclusion that we're 'dating'...ugh_

"I guessss...!" Bisha sighed, shrugging. "But that's so boring...! Oh! But what if they're teaming up in a professional _and_ a personal capacity...?! Oh my god, I bet that's totally it!"

 _No_

He's lucky I'm even willing to work with him on a joint Patrol... And even then, I'm only doing it so that poor Intern of his actually gets paid attention to for one day.

"... B...but there's no way to know that..." Okita mumbled, still red in the face and fidgeting with her bangs. "... I-i mean... Not unless either of them... Confirm it... A-and even then... Animal Spirit isn't really in to the publicity stuff... So there's n-not really a good chance... That she'd want that s-sort of thing... T.. to be public..."

"Ah, but it would be so juicy!" Bisha hummed, "Those two are both in the spotlight all for their own reasons- but could you imagine? The two top, youngest heroes in Japan getting together?! Ahhhh, that would be so cute and romantic!" Bisha trilled, clapping her hands together in front of her. "They're already such a hot topic, they'd take the media by storm if they get together! They'd probably even be top on The Vigilante's Hottest Pro Couples list!"

 _... Ugh, not that thing_

 _The Vigilante_ was a popular gossip tabloid in Tokyo that pretty much did nothing but spread outrageous stories about popular Pro Heroes, and speculate on things that were waaaaaay outside of the realm of logic. It published a lot of so-called 'scandals' and things that she was fairly sure were only 5% pulling in actual truth and fact. But the public ate it up, because it was (as Bisha put it) _juicy._

One of the tabloid's most popular portions (outside of 'Your Hero Horoscope' and 'Which Pro is Match for You?') was that list- Japan's Hottest Pro Couples.

It was a way of prodding and poking at a Pro Heroes romantic lives with their significant other, and commenting on it where it was likely not welcomed. As well as digging up any interesting bit of information they could, and flashing it for the whole of Japan to see- and making a massive fuss of everything. It was stupid, and a massive invasion of what little amount of privacy or subtlety any of those Pros might want or have.

 _... But such is the life of a Hero... That's why I don't get involved in fanfare and media, at least as much as can be helped._

"Quick, Kage! Who's your favorite Pro Couple?!" Bisha asked quickly, rounding on Spirit and pointing a finger at her.

"... I don't know, I don't pay attention." Spirit mumbled, stacking the last clean glass and drying her hands off. Bisha sighed,

"You're no fun!" She whined, and Spirit just shrugged.

"Hey! How about less chit-chat and more drink pouring?!"

Bisha's talking cut off to the annoyed call from the floor, a man waving a hand at them at the bar and looking quite cross. Okita nearly jumped out of her skin at it and Bisha looked less than pleased with the interruption, though she kept her mouth shut and refused to look his way. Spirit let out a silent sigh, her 'blue' eyes trailing up to look at the man and nodding slightly.

"Yes sir, coming right up." She replied coolly, and he clicked his tongue and waved a hand at her dismissively, still scowling up a storm. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek while Bisha stuck her tongue out at the guy when he turned his back.

"Mm... Guess I oughtta get back to work." Bisha sighed, "You two have fun, okay? And be careful, don't work yourselves too hard!"

"A-Alright..." Okita mumbled, Spirit nodded just once.

"...kay."

 **.:+:.**

 _... It's only been three hours and I already want to die..._

She stacked up the next round of drinks for Okita on the young girl's tray and watched her set back out onto the floor... Slow and stiff-shouldered, but expressionless and as calm as she possibly could get. Spirit leaned back against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest and posture wilting slightly.

 _... But honestly, I just wanna go to sleep... And I just wanna not think about literally anything..._

"... Hello again."

Spirit stiffened, her eyes snapping away from watching Okita and toward the owner of that utterly monotone voice- and she grit her teeth.

Her 'blue' eyes met those pale green eyes of his, glinting behind the pair of glasses perched on the edge of his nose. He offered up a small smile, his fingers linking together on the bar counter in front of him and totally at ease under the stare she settled on him.

 _Oh, of course he pops back up_

Yeah, you remember- the guy who came in two nights back, and watched her pretty much through her whole shift? Mr. 'I can't find anything to catch my interest'?

"... Mamoru." Spirit murmured flatly, and his placid smile pulled a bit further at the edges.

"Ah, you remembered." He hummed lightly, and she huffed. "Shall I take that as a compliment? Or just more sign to how wary you are of me?"

"... Try the latter." Spirit mumbled lowly, and he smiled still a bit more, and nodded.

"I see. Well, I do apologize for making you uneasy." He apologized with ease, and Spirit did nothing but blink at it. He hummed and cast her a small glance, his eyes glittering. "... Though should it be such a surprise I am interested in you? You are a very beautiful woman after all, it is only natural I would wish to talk with you, and pay you mind."

Spirit's eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise, her jaw clenching a bit harder.

 _... I'm sorry what...?_

 _Is he trying to tell me that all his watching and whatever is because... He's trying to flirt with me?_

She settled him with a deadpan stare and he seemed rather amused by it... You know, with that same, barren, almost bored air he couldn't seem to get rid of, even when 'flirting'.

"You don't look convinced." He hummed lightly, "I assure you I am being completely honest, for what little my word may be worth to you. Surely someone as beautiful as you has earned the attention of many people before now, not just me? Especially around here, hmm?"

"... Mostly drunken, and unwanted attention." Spirit deadpanned lowly, his lips twitched upward a bit more on one side.

"Fair enough." He hummed, "Though, I can assure you I am not drunk, and I do not intend to drink enough to come close to it either... I simply thought perhaps since you seem less busy tonight, you might care to chat for a little while?" He asked, and Spirit's eyes narrowed.

"... Chat about what?" She asked lowly, and he shrugged.

"Oh, it can be anything you please. Simple small talk, mundane things even- nothing important if that suits you." He hummed, Spirit blinked.

"... And what makes you think I'm the sort of person that would even care to 'chat'?" Spirit muttered, he chuckled a bit under his breath... Dry and low, but somewhat amused it sounded like.

"Aren't we all looking to connect with another person, at least some of the time?" He answered with ease, "Humans are very social creatures at their hearts, after all. Even the most solitary of us do enjoy interacting with others, every once in awhile." He explained, leaning forward on his elbows and peering up at her from behind his glasses. Spirit just held his gaze steadily, one brow quirking.

 _Social creatures, huh?_

"Besides," he added, looking away from her and letting his eyes drop closed. He unlinked his hands slightly, bringing them up and resting his chin against the back of them as he leaned onto his elbows a bit more. "You look like you could use a bit of a distraction for awhile. You seem quite a bit more tense today than the last time I was here... I do hope nothing too serious is bothering you, Kage."

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling internally and hating that any amount of tension or weighty thoughts of her mind were that noticeable.

She crossed her arms over her chest, grumbling a few low, choice words under her breath- and mostly curses toward herself.

 _Damn it Spirit, you can't let it be that easy to see that you're not exactly in the best mindset... Or that anything is bothering you, shit._

 _I thought we'd gotten good at hiding it?_

 _I guess fucking not_

 _Ugh_

"... Not particularly." She replied lowly, after a moment or two of silence between them. He cracked one eye open, looking none-too-convinced with the answer, but he shrugged slightly and smiled calmly.

"So, care for a chat?" He asked lightly,

"You do realize I am in the middle of a shift." Spirit mumbled,

"I am aware, but you do spend most all your time here at the bar. I don't suppose it would be too hard to carry a conversation while you're here. And of course I will not mind when you break off to fulfill your duties. I am a very patient person." He hummed, "Pauses in the conversation will be well worth it, given I was lucky enough to be talking with you at all."

 _... Damn he's laying it on pretty thick, huh?_

 _He must think he's charming_

"... Does this usually work for you?" Spirit asked flatly, and he smiled.

"I wouldn't know. You're the only person I've been truly interested in for a very long while, so this is somewhat my first attempt at trying to catch someone's attention." He replied easily, she blinked.

 _Somehow I'm not sure that's truth... But at the same time, this guy also doesn't really strike me as the kind of person that goes around flirting with lots of people either... So why me?_

 _Why does this self described guy who 'can't ever find anything to interest him'- seem so interested in me? I'm not that interesting... Kage is not interesting, I literally work all the time and I don't give anyone a side glance while I'm here and I clearly give off the vibe that I'm not interested (right?)._

 _So what the hell?_

Once again, it all came off as suspicious to her, and she couldn't help it.

She had looked him up, by the way. 'Yoichi Mamoru'... And nothing came up, really. Just your general, run of the mill search results- this common social media account, tagged in this picture, blah, blah... It was all normal.

And while she was sure anyone with an ulterior motive wouldn't really go posting their dastardly deeds on the Internet- and in light of that, his web presence being normal didn't really count for much- it was normal enough she was mostly sure he wasn't... I don't know, an evil Villain looking to fuck my life up?

(Because to be entirely honest, someone like that probably wouldn't exist on the internet at all... Though possibly he made it all up as a cover?)

She bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling internally.

Maybe that was just ingrained paranoia talking... But being wary and suspicious is better than being too trusting and getting screwed over.

But it probably wouldn't do any good to be an outright bitch- as much as she distrusted this guy, his sudden appearance, and odd interest in her- she could try and be some sort of civil... Like how she was with other Pros, when she had to be.

She swallowed though, hating that the instant 'other Pros' came into the picture all the thoughts and wonderings and emotions of the day came crashing back down, and she cursed herself in her head.

 _... Maybe I do need a bit of a distraction._

She sighed, her eyes dropping closed for a moment and her posture wilting the slightest bit. And though she didn't see it, Mamoru looked up at her quietly, his green eyes narrowing as he tilted his head.

"... Fine, let's see if you can entertain me." Spirit murmured at length, and his lips pulled in a wry smirk at the answer. "But if you're gonna sit here, you have to order something. Or security will toss you out." She added, and he nodded.

"Of course. And I will certainly do my best to provide some level of entertainment." He replied, and Spirit just blinked her eyes open, arms still crossed over her chest and expression flat.

"So what can I get you?" She asked flatly,

"Surprise me." He smiled, and she blinked, quirking a brow and quiet for a moment, before nodding.

"... Mmm... Fine." She sighed, turning her back on him for a moment and moving to gather things up and fulfill his 'surprise' order.

It wasn't really often someone left their order up to her, most of the people who came here stuck to their usual and just that. But occasionally she was left with the choice, and she didn't usually have a hard time coming up with something at least suitable.

She paused with her back turned, her eyes dropping closed and taking in a low, slow, and deep breath... The scent of smoke and sweat ever heavy on the air was first to invade her senses, and quickly followed with the scent of liquor. Underneath all of that was the musty smell of BO and cheap cologne, with a whiff of perfume here and there and the scent of the other miscellaneous drink/foodstuffs she had here at the bar. And after all of that, was the lingering scent of rain let in from the outside... but she really didn't care about any of that, she was interested in one thing in particular.

Truth be told, this had once upon a time been a big habit for her... just smelling things.

 _(Does that sound weird...? ...eh, a little, whatever)_

Her nose had always been sensitive even when not Shifted into an animal, and her ears and eyes were sharper than what might be considered 'normal' standards as well. But her nose had always been stronger than all the rest (not that she knew why), and when she was younger and growing up she'd been pretty consistent on spending time picking scents apart. This old habit was why she recognized different smells with such ease nowadays, and back in school she'd even managed a mental checklist on the scents associated with her classmates, and could pick them apart without ever having to physically see them.

She could probably pick out individual people based on their specific scent if she cared to... Though to be honest, for about 2-3 years now she'd stopped relying that much on her nose. Mostly because she was nothing but a loner now, and she wasn't around people enough (or long enough) to even care to put in the effort to memorize their scent. She'd probably put much more stock in her ears and eyes now than anything else, so even using her nose against Anima earlier today wasn't as frequent an occurrence than it could have been... Or should be, honestly.

 _I mean anything to get an edge against enemies is a plus... And if this guy is gonna be so interested in me, it'll probably be worth my while to learn his scent. That way even if I can't see or hear him, and if he's spying or hiding around me, I might be able to pick up on him being there._

Plus people's scents sometimes give clues to what they do, or what sort of places they spend time around. The smell of rabbit mixed in with Anima's scent from earlier, and pegging him with a pet rabbit, being one such example of 'things to learn about someone by their smell'.

So that's what she was looking for now, under the booze and the smoke and sweat and cheap cologne (seriously, the men here need to tone it down...). His scent, whatever it may be, or might tell her about who Yoichi Mamoru was.

And to her genuine surprise, the thing she picked up on coming from him was something like... _flowers?_

 _Hmm... some kind of flower, though I'm not sure which exactly._

It was a peculiar one to be sure. Both earthy and bitter, while also being mixed with something light and sweet that was akin to... vanilla, was probably closest.

But she was surprised at it, because she'd expected some sort of cologne or even the scent of some kind of paper, or cigarette smoke, or something of that nature... But no, he smelled like flowers, and for a moment she wondered if he was wearing perfume. Of course in the next instant she threw the thought away, because the smell wasn't artificial enough. It actually smelled quite natural, as if he'd ripped up a whole patch of vegetation and stuffed it in his pockets before coming here.

 _Not likely, but a sort of amusing thought... I gotta wonder if him smelling like that is because of his Quirk, in some way?_

She cast the question off and continued on with what she was doing, pulling supplies down and settling her attention on putting the order together.

The smirk Mamoru had been wearing faded again as he watched Spirit work, and after awhile bobbed his head left and right a few times, seemingly musing to himself in silence... or maybe he was just subconsciously mimicking the movement of her hands.

Either way he stilled again by the time she turned back around, her expression still so very neutral as she stepped up to the bar. "Here you go." Spirit mumbled, setting the glass down on the counter in front of him. She stuck a lime wedge on the edge of a glass filled with honey-colored liquid and ice, and he blinked at it.

"... and whatever am I drinking this evening?" He asked lightly, pulling the glass toward him and tapping the lime with a finger.

"Lime Whiskey Highball." Spirit replied flatly, he blinked in surprise, before smirking and picking the glass up.

"Ah," He murmured lightly, "I've had few variations on whiskey before, even Highball... but never a lime version... it sounds quite interesting."

"... you don't go drinking often, do you?" Spirit muttered, and he blinked, a little surprised with the question.

"Hmm? What makes you say that?" He asked,

"Whiskey Highball is probably the most common drink you can get made at any bar, and lime's a common flavor for it too." Spirit mumbled, "You'd know that if you actually went out and ordered anything enough times."

"Ah, well I actually frequent bars quite a bit." He smiled wearily, Spirit quirked a brow. "Though admittedly, I don't branch my orders out very much. Nor do I pay much attention to what other people drink while I'm there."

"... do you literally just order whiskey every time and nothing else?" Spirit deadpanned, and he smiled, though this time a touch embarrassed.

"Yes." He hummed, "It is one of the very few things I am rigid with and do not vary." He added, tilting the drink in his hand a bit, before lifting it up to his lips and taking a sip of it. He hummed once he had, tilting the glass back and blinking twice. "Hmm... Interesting." He murmured, "Perhaps I've been cheating myself out of more flavorful drinks... I must admit this does taste good. A bit odd to start, but the aftertaste is rather pleasant, actually." He smiled coolly as he set the glass down again, dipping his head toward her. "I suppose I should thank you for introducing me to something new, and commend you your ability to choose something your customer will like with such ease. You seem to be a very good bartender, Kage. It seemed to me that you know your way around a bar quite well, from what I've seen of your work."

"... I suppose." She mumbled,

"How long have you been working here?" He asked with ease, and she bit the inside of her cheek at the question.

 _Prying... But sort of general 'chit-chat' too, right...?_

 _... It better just be chit-chat._

"A year." She grumbled, he blinked in slight surprise.

"That's quite some time." He hummed, "Did you learn to bartend on this job, or did you have some experience beforehand?" He asked next, and she bit into her cheek a little harder, her eyes narrowing.

 _... Now we're going back farther than I like._

"... I learned several years ago." Was the vague, and rather curt answer she gave him and he paused, his eyes widening a bit.

"Several years?" He echoed, "Now that is a surprise. You seem rather young to have been doing this work for that amount of time." He commented, but he smiled a bit regardless. "Well, at least to be working legally in this profession, anyway." He added, and she huffed a bit at it, but he shook his head and let his eyes fall to the drink. "Though of course I am not accusing you of anything, nor trying to admonish you either. Who am I to begrudge you your hobbies? I have participated in quite a few questionable hobbies myself." He hummed lightly, and Spirit blinked.

 _Questionable hobbies? Such as?_

She almost asked the question out loud- though only almost. She knew it was better to let people lead themselves into touchy subjects rather than pry... Especially if said person might have ulterior motivations for this whole 'chit-chat' thing.

"Heh, though perhaps I'll not scare you off with the more distasteful bits to start." He murmured, taking another drink and then pushing his glasses back up his nose a bit. "Shall we try to talk of some simple things then? Your favorite movie perhaps? Favorite food, or color?" He asked lightly, almost like they weren't serious questions, and Spirit sighed.

 _... Such stupid questions..._

"Are you honestly interested in any of those?" She asked flatly, and he smiled pleasantly.

"Of course, even such seemingly trivial details are quite interesting in their own way. And perhaps they might even present a bit of commonality between us, hmm?" He answered, and she looked away, actively fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

 _... Those questions sound like the sort of stupid shit Feathers would-_

 _-wait, we're not thinking about him, remember? Quit._

"... Fine." Spirit mumbled, "I'm not sure it'll give you anything, but whatever..." She muttered, and he smiled still as he waited for her reply with patience. She let her eyes drop closed and crossed her arms over her chest, her hip cocking slightly. "I don't watch movies, or TV, or anything like that, so your first question is a bust." She grumbled, "Food-wise I'm pretty boring, but if I had to pick something it'd probably be sashimi... Or melonpan." She mumbled, trailing off at the end there as memory of the baked good given to her by Anima earlier today invaded her thoughts.

Because usually she would have just said sashimi and been done with it... But that melonpan earlier was _really freakin' good._

And though she missed it because her eyes were closed, the two food choices did earn quite a curious look from Mamoru- and rightly so. Those two foods were basically on opposite ends of the spectrum.

"... And in terms of color I don't really care much... But I suppose I'll pick white." She finished, skimping straight on to the next question and finally opening her eyes again, and just as before he looked a little curious at her reply... But that faded quickly.

"Technically white isn't a color, but instead a lack of all color." He pointed out lightly, and she huffed.

"Don't ask if you're just gonna bash on what I pick." She muttered sharply, and he smiled, shaking his head a little.

"I wasn't trying to, my apologies if it came out that way." He replied with the utmost ease and calm. "Though your answers are all very interesting, and I would like to see if we could perhaps strike up a conversation about your choice or food?" He hummed, and she blinked.

"... Not until you answer the questions yourself." She replied, and he blinked in surprise. "It's only fair you answer whatever you ask of me." She pointed out lowly, and he nodded.

"True enough." He hummed, "In terms of movies, I have seen a great deal too many to narrow them down to one... But I do favor action movies that are fast-paced and have a lot going on in most every scene." He answered first, and Spirit quirked a brow at it.

 _... Okay, not what I might have expected..._

"And food is near the same, I've tried so many things... Though I can probably narrow it down to the more flavorful variations of onigiri." He went on,

 _... I guess that's a basic enough choice... But what the hell does he mean by flavorful? Like spicy or something...?_

"As for color, I can easily say that I am rather fond of red." He finished, and Spirit blinked, nodding slowly.

"... Alright, so what did you wanna talk about in regards to my food choices?" She asked after a moment, "And you'd better not be about to bash those too." She added flatly, and he looked amused by the comment.

"Of course not." He hummed, "I'm just curious what type of sashimi you typically lean toward?"

"... I like sake or kenpachi usually, but ika is the next best." She mumbled, "... And I usually prefer it without any added things, like ginger or shoyu." She added, almost as an afterthought, and he smiled slightly.

"I see, you lean toward simplicity in your meals, hmm?" He hummed, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

Not so much as a taste choice, 'simplicity'... But maybe a little. Simple things were cheaper to buy (sashimi a bit less cheap, though...), and she honestly liked sashimi because it was... Well, for lack of a better descriptor- natural. More just... regular, raw, natural fish.

 _... The predatory side to be sure-_

"I can't say the same for myself, though. I rather prefer more complicated things, or relatively odd flavors and mixtures." Mamoru kept on, oblivious to her thoughts and easily breaking them off. Spirit blinked at that, her head tilting.

 _Again with flavor... Odd flavors? Complicated...?_

"... Do you just eat any weird food you can find?" She asked flatly, and he smiled.

"That is one way of seeing it, yes." He chuckled, "I like to be adventurous with my meals where I can... Gives me something to get a little excited over, at least for a time. And to bring something new and interesting to my day."

"... because you have a hard time finding anything to amuse you for very long." Spirit deadpanned slightly, reiterating his words from that first night and he smiled a bit.

"Indeed."

"And why do you have such a hard time finding interest, or whatever?" Spirit asked flatly, and he paused, his smile fading for a moment as his green eyes fell to his drink, musing in a way.

"A good question, though I'm not sure I have an answer. It's always been that way for me, even from a very young age." He replied after a moment, shrugging slightly as he took another drink, before setting the glass back down softly. "Hmm... Though I suppose some of it may have to do with the nature of my Quirk, if I were to make a guess." He added lightly, almost as an afterthought and Spirit's narrowed a bit.

 _... His Quirk...?_

 _... Maybe his weird smell does something to do with his Quirk after all... But what?_

He didn't seem to be looking to elaborate on the point, and she wasn't going to press it even if she did wonder. It wouldn't really do to pry at him and make him suspicious of her... her own suspicions were enough for the both of them right now.

"Might I ask what interests you, though?" He asked coolly, and she blinked. "Any particular hobbies you enjoy? Or something in particular that never fails to put you in a good mood?"

Spirit paused, her eyes dropping from him and to the side, her fingers digging into her arms a bit when... well, she drew a blank.

Because let's be honest, she didn't actually do anything other than flit between working here at the club and working as a Pro. Sure, she got an odd 4-6 hours of sleep in between, and a meal or two every day... and on very intermittent occasions she would go out to eat with Death Arms for a few hours. But other than that, she did nothing else. No 'hobbies', no little inconsequential habits or routines, or even just mindlessly reading a book or watching movies or anything.

She literally just worked, for 95% of every day, every week, and every month and year. And she didn't even give a second thought to doing anything else, it just didn't really occur to her... or interest her, maybe.

She had just never considered doing anything else, she supposed. She was more concerned with being busy and doing her job, and doing it right. She always had been, because in some ways she hated wasting any amount of time on anything not productive or official.

 _... huh._

 _... I've never really figured that... but maybe working all the time isn't like a normal thing people do? Or at least, should do?_

 _I've always worked, like a lot... I mean, I know socially speaking you should probably do more than work, but I've never really cared, or thought too much about it._

 _... but now I really don't have an answer to this question. Like at all._

She blinked, her eyes narrowing at the bar counter she was glaring at now for a few long moments.

 _Well damn_

"... I guess... I like singing." She mumbled at length, her eyes still fixed to the bartop and missing the way his eyes widened at the answer. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek a few times, her arms crossing over her chest a bit tighter and her gaze darting from the bartop and toward the side for a moment, not meeting his eyes. "... I do it mostly without thinking, and in small bursts... but it's probably the closest to a 'hobby' or habit that I have." She added softly, sighing a bit as her eyes moved back toward him, and he just returned the look in silence, his expression now utterly blank.

And that silence settled between the both of them for a few moments much too long, and Spirit's lips pulled downward at the edges as she began to feel herself bristle.

"... what?" She asked a little sharply, and he shook his head, his expression still so blank.

"Nothing, I'm just a little surprised with your answer." He murmured, and she grit her teeth slightly.

"... tch... you asked what I like to do-" She started hotly, but he shook his head again, a cool smile appearing back on his lips as his green eyes glittered in amusement.

"There's no need to get worked up, Kage. I'm not implying your hobby is a bad one, or anything of the sort. It's actually rather intriguing, and my interest is quite peaked." He chuckled lightly, "I wonder if I will ever earn the chance to hear you sing? I'm sure your voice is no less beautiful than you are. It would be a wonderful treat if I could hear a song or two from you, someday." He hummed pleasantly, and this time Spirit felt her face heat up, though only a smidgen. Because it was still shameless flirting, and it seemed to come so easily for him- but for some reason this time, it struck a chord and she felt a flash of nervousness run through her.

 _Tch..._

"... I don't sing for other people." She grumbled lowly, pointedly looking away from him again and he tilted his head, before he smiled softly.

"Ah, a true shame." He hummed, "I will not press you if that is your choice, but perhaps once we get to know one another better, you might permit me a small view of your vocal skills." He said, and Spirit only huffed a bit in answer, still not looking at him.

She was saved from further participation in the conversation (at least for now) by the call from a man sitting on the far end of the bar, asking for another drink. Spirit uncrossed her arms from over her chest and nodded to the man in sign she heard him. Her eyes met with Mamoru's green ones for a small moment as he nodded at her, silently acknowledging the fact that she needed to step away.

Spirit turned her back on him and headed toward the other man to gather up his empty glass and set to work replacing it. She was faintly thankful for the interruption, though she could still feel Mamoru watching her work every once in awhile this time, and it still put her on edge... just maybe less so than it had that first day.

She took a bit of time to not only fulfill the order of the man who had called out, but to take care of all the rest around the bar and the new tray of glasses Okita brought back. She did her best not to cast Mamoru a glance or anything of the sort as she did so, intent on just letting her attention fall away from him for what time she could... but still, his eyes followed her around incessantly, and she grumbled a bit.

Fine. He could watch her, but she would sure as hell take her sweet time before heading back over to continue whatever 'chat' they had started.

She cast a small, imperceptible glance over her shoulder toward him after a few minutes as she was filling up a line of drinks. She found his green eyes locked on her again, though they weren't on her face and instead seemed to be stuck a bit lower down. She grit her teeth slightly, huffing under her breath and suppressing the flash of flusterdness that rose up in her core, and the slight agitation.

 _... tch... is he staring at my ass?_

She set the filled glass down on the counter beside her a bit harder than was needed, and poor Okita fidgeting a few feet away in the corner jumped at the noise- though Spirit hardly cared.

 _Maybe he really was just flirting, and had no ulterior motive._

 _... maybe..._

Either way, she did let herself relax, just a little... be social and somewhat not bitchy, right? Let herself have a distraction from everything terrible and shitty and too much from the day? From her life?

 _Even if he was staring at my ass openly_

She forced a heavy sigh and stacked up the filled drinks on Okita's tray, murmuring a quick few words toward the girl and asking if she was okay- to which received the usual shy nod and mumbled 'I'm okay' Okita seemed bent on sticking to. And Spirit didn't believe it so easily, but she didn't press too hard either. Instead she handed the tray over and quietly instructed the younger girl to deliver them, and then take a fifteen minute break back in the changing rooms and away from the crowds. Okita nodded in understanding and headed off, Spirit affording a few more moments of ignoring Mamoru time to watch Okita walk off, before slowly trailing her way back toward where the man was waiting ever so patiently.

And he greeted her with that same flat, nearly monotone, yet pleasant tone of voice he had adopted since the start. Completely at ease and falling back into the chatting in little to no time at all.

He lead the bulk of the conversation for the rest of the two hours it lasted, and she let him do so. The topic of conversation never really went anywhere all that interesting, or even 'deep' in any sense of the word. It was all just light, nearly nonsensical chatter- stupid things really... More this hobby, that hobby, semi-interesting factoid here, a thinly veiled flirt there.

To be quite honest, it was probably the most normal and at ease conversation she had been apart of for a year or so... Maybe longer. The only other person she could recall having this sort of conversation with was Death Arms, and quite honestly they never really talked about a lot of unimportant stuff, even when they did hang out together.

And maybe... it was _somewhat_ enjoyable. And a sorely needed distraction from literally everything.

The biggest thing she had learned through it, was that Mamoru had apparently tried out a lot of different hobbies- ranging from standard to weird, and spanning over a number that was just kind of insane.

Fencing, pottery, playing the flute, cooking, collecting (many, many different things... including poker chips?), and taking a ludicrous number of surveys online for three weeks one time. Also writing, hiking, tasting any food he could get his hands on, fishing (more food motivation?), gambling (legally he assured... but maybe the poker chips thing wasn't so odd, given this), trolling online forums (sounded boring as hell to her... and apt to drag you into some dark corner of the internet you really, really would be better off not knowing about), soap carving, swimming... you get the point.

And he didn't really elaborate on most of them, though she was increasingly curious as he mentioned more and more throughout the whole of the conversation. Of course he didn't list them all at once like that, he just dropped one here and waited awhile, casually mentioned another- and most of the time trying to open up an avenue for her to put her own input into the conversation. And it worked, sometimes, but of course she was still cautious, even if after awhile she found herself more than a little engaged in the whole interaction.

Because seriously, who does that much? Or even attempts? Or has the time or energy?

She certainly didn't.

 _... Though I suppose in that way, he's sort of living a life I don't have... so many it's not weird I find it at last a little interesting._

So she tried to participate a bit in the conversation, commenting on his hobbies or adding her own opinion about something when asked, or when there was an opening for it. Of the many things he had done, Mamoru seemed to have taken more to dining and drinking as his favorite pastimes. And the other places he could get his thrills seemed to be in a more active side- the swimming, hiking, fencing, and whatnot... and this small tidbit had included another barely hidden hint at expending energy doing 'other' activities. Though he said it with such ease and grace it didn't come off as flirty as it was, and instead more charming. He was good at that.

So by the end of it, he had made it very clear why he was so interested in her- and it did seem to only be because he was pursuing her in a romantic (or maybe more _sensual_ ) way. And still he was very cordial about the whole thing, and never blatantly lewd or anything of the sort. It had been a very long time since anyone and their advances had been so polite, and longer since where she wasn't immediately annoyed by it, or only wanted to slam her fist into their face. Kind of a nice change of pace from all the lustful, skeevy catcalls and lecherous stares she got from 90% of the people who came into this Club... And to Mamoru's credit, he did manage to make her forget about everything that was bothering her nearly all the way- which put her in a much finer mood.

(Ah, and also kept her awake and from dozing off as she had been afraid of earlier)

Mamoru finished the last of what was his third drink, and cast her a smile, climbing to his feet and dipping his head toward her.

"I think it time I head home." He announced softly, "It was wonderful talking with you Kage, I hope to do so again soon." His green eyes flashed behind his glasses as he set the empty glass back down on the counter and the napkin it had been sitting atop of, before he slid it her way. "Perhaps next time I might even convince you to come out with me for a meal? I know a wonderful restaurant that sells some of the finest sashimi on this side of the city." He added lightly, and Spirit blinked.

"Hmph, don't get ahead of yourself." She answered flatly, and he smiled still, nodding. "And just so you know, I can't be bribed with food." She pointed out, her tone dropping just a bit, and he chuckled under his breath at the words.

"Well, nevertheless- I wish you a wonderful rest of your night." He hummed, "Till I see you again, Kage." He called lightly, waving a hand over his shoulder as he began to walk away and Spirit watched him. Once he was gone and out of sight through the door, her eyes dropped to the empty glass on the bar counter and she sighed.

She still had another two and a half hours before the shift was over... but even then she couldn't go home right away. Because she had given such short notice on not being able to come to work tomorrow evening at the start of her shift (and instead would have to head over after the joint patrol with Hawks and the Interns), she had to make up for it by staying late tonight and helping to clean and close up. There was a small span of a few hours that the club wasn't open at all, and it was reserved for actually doing a thorough cleaning of the floor and putting everything away, and whatever else was needed. Usually she didn't stick around for that part, but she had little choice in the matter.

She picked the glass up and the napkin with it, intent on cleaning up but halting when she realized there were numbers sprawled across the napkin in pen.

 _Seriously? He gave me his number?_

She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes narrowing at the writing before she crumpled the napkin up and huffed.

 _He is really laying it on heavy, huh? When did he even write it?_

She moved toward the sink with the glass and the napkin balled up in hand, shaking her head at herself.

 _... mm... probably sometime when I stepped away to take care of other orders._

She deposited the cup in the sink's basin and paused, her eyes falling on the crumpled up napkin in her palm.

"Uhm... Kage...?"

Spirit glanced up at Okita's soft voice, her hand closing around the napkin instinctively and turning toward the younger girl behind her.

"Hmm? What's up?" Spirit asked, Okita's eyes averted slightly.

"Uh... I have the new round of orders..." Okita mumbled shyly, her hand extending with the slip of paper and the orders with it. Spirit nodded, offering up a faint (and slightly weary) smile, and taking it from Okita, her other hand stuffing the napkin in her back pocket.

"Thank you, I'll have these right up."

 _Back to work I guess... Yay_

 **.:+:.**

"Do... Do you need help with anything else, Kage...?" Okita asked softly, her hands fiddling with her bangs and blue eyes darting from the ground, to the rest of the (now empty) floor, and then over to Spirit on a loop. She had changed out of her 'uniform' and into a pair of jeans, a tank top with a jacket over it, her long pale hair pulled up into a messy bun- it was somewhat an odd sight, seeing her so dressed down, where usually she was rather dressed up for work... not that she looked bad or anything, mind you.

The whole of the building was quiet around them, the club having closed down about an hour beforehand and most everyone on the staff having gone home a bit before that. What was left was Spirit and Okita to do cleanup for the day, stacking chairs, wiping tables, cleaning stage, vacuuming, restocking the bar- the works.

Okita was stuck on cleaning duty being a newbie and all, and Spirit as payment for cutting tomorrow's shift short. Technically Shiga was supposed to be helping with the cleaning tonight too, but she'd left about half and hour ago so she could get home in time to get a jump on some online coursework. Spirit didn't mind much, especially given Okita was such an efficient worker. Between the two of them they had actually gotten the bulk of the cleaning duties done in fairly impressive time.

Spirit straightened up from stacking things in the underside of the bar, peering over the counter to match gazes with the younger girl.

"No, I only have a little more to finish up, I can handle it on my own. Thank you for the offer though." Spirit told her, "... If you give me like twenty minutes or so, I'll be done and we can walk together, at least for a little while. It's pretty late, and dark." Spirit added and Okita stiffened a bit, looking nervous, but shaking her head quickly.

"N-no, that's okay... I'll just start heading home now, I'm fine to walk on my own..." She assured, though her voice was less confident than she probably would have liked. "B-besides... I really doubt we'd be headed in the same direction anyway... So it's okay... I've gone back by myself before..."

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek. "... It wouldn't be a bother." She murmured, but Okita shook her head again.

"I-it's okay... Really... I don't live that far..." Okita mumbled, and Spirit sighed silently.

"... Are you sure...?"

"Yes...b..but... T-thank you... For offering... Kage..." Okita mumbled softly, her eyes stuck to the floor and never moving back up toward Spirit again.

 _She's still so nervous about everything, but she always seems **really** nervous around me- more so than other people...? Why...?_

 _But even if I do make her fidget for whatever reason, I would have thought my company was a better alternative than walking the Red Light District alone at 3am... Guess not._

"... Alright, but be careful." Spirit told her slowly, and Okita nodded stiffly in affirmation, her purple eyes still trained to the floor as she turned and started toward the back door.

"...uhm... Goodnight... Kage..." She called out quietly as she went,

".. 'Night." Spirit mumbled in reply, losing sight of the younger girl as she stepped through the threshold of the hallway and disappeared toward the back. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek a few times, letting out a sigh and dropping her eyes back down to what she was doing before being interrupted.

 _... is there something about me that sets her on edge...? I mean she seems pretty shy around everybody, not just the customers but the other girls too... but with me she always seems just a bit more on edge... and I thought she'd relaxed around me after we talked that first day we met... but guess not..._

 _... even working with me this week, she's hardly said 50 words to me the whole time... she just seems to want to keep to herself..._

Spirit wilted slightly, her eyes dropping closed and her head tilting forward enough that her forehead pressed against the lip of the cupboard.

 _... mmm... at least one Intern thing is going well, even if the other isn't... I just don't know what's up with Okita... And I kinda doubt she'd tell me if I went and asked..._

She shook her head, mussing up her bangs against the the cupboard, though she couldn't care less about that. She felt herself sway slightly on the balls of her feet, a bit composure and her balance from where she was crouched on the floor slipping away from her, though she did her best not to let it... she just didn't have the energy. What energy she'd had at all, had drained the last few hours of her shift, and if she'd felt dead on her feet before- she was definitely six feet in the earth right now.

 _... I am so tired... Just a few more shelves to stock Spirit and you can go home, and sleep for as long as you want... You don't have to be anywhere until 5pm..._

Oh that sounded absolutely amazing... walking back home right now, not so much. But a necessary evil she would have to endure.

With a sigh she resumed the terribly dull work of placing bottles of liquor, and other various supplies in their proper places on the shelves. Once she was done, she stacked up the empty boxes needing to be thrown out, gathered up her wallet and keys, made sure the front door was locked up tight, and headed out the back door.

It was near pitch black outside, courtesy of the thick covering of clouds leftover from the storm earlier. What little light was available was from dirty and buzzing lamps stuck to the edges of the buildings sparsely, and bounced oddly off the puddles of dirty water dotted across the ground. The air itself was chill and full of moisture, a thin haze made up of her breath washed out in front of Spirit as she let out a sigh, and locked the back door behind her.

She diverted down the alleyway and away from the street to toss the empty boxes in the garbage bin, all of them thudding against the bags on the inside and shattering the dead silence all around. She winced internally at the sound, and more so at the slam the lid of the bin made when she dropped it back down. It was actually almost uncomfortably loud against the nothing... Or maybe she was just more sensitive to it, given how tired she felt.

She turned back up the alleyway and toward the street it dumped out on, ready to take a right and head for home, but she never made actually made it to the street before her feet stalled.

She stopped, her hands in her pants pockets and eyes locked straight ahead to that lone streetlight settled at the end of the alleyway, quiet. She didn't know why she stopped, her feet seemed to be acting of their own accord just then, and her tired mind was struggling to come to terms with it... and with the fact that she felt a shiver run down her spine, a tingle running through every inch of her as a sense of unease settled into her core without warning.

She didn't know why, or what- but immediately she sensed something was off. An innate, instinctual feeling, and a very real one.

 _What the hell...?_

Her eyes narrowed to slits, her shoulders stiffening slightly as she slowly turned her head just enough she could cast a cautious glance over her shoulder.

Was someone watching her? Somewhere she couldn't' see them, but still feel them lurking...?

Her teeth grit, her tiredness quickly dissipating in the wave of tension that suddenly swallowed her whole. Her mind immediately flashed to the idea of Mamoru and his interest, and she hissed lowly at the idea he was out here waiting, hoping to catch her off guard- because of course that's the first place her thoughts went to. So she sucked in a sharp breath of air, anticipating the odd scent of flowers- but she didn't find it, and instead she picked up on something lighter, and sweeter, like honey.

She turned around now, about halfway as she glanced up the side of the alleyway that lead to another few, interweaving behind the buildings pressed up against the club and whatever else around it. Her 'blue' eyes flashed in the dim, her lips pulling downward at the edges and grumbling a bit under her breath.

Despite where her thoughts first jumped to, she _knew_ what it felt like to be watched- and this wasn't it. This was something different, and that new smell- the honey-like one- that struck a chord with her, though at first she couldn't figure why.

She only wondered on it for a few seconds more, before her thoughts clicked together and she realized what the scent was. Or rather, _who_ it belonged to.

 _... don't tell me..._

She was moving in the opposite direction of the street in no time at all, her hands moving out of her pockets and steps brisk. Her pace steadily picked up as she scanned the alley walls and turned her attention on to whatever her ears and nose could pick up, given it was rather dark. She didn't know what she was looking for... well actually, she hoped she wouldn't pick up on what she was afraid might have brought on this sudden unease.

 _I'm just being regular, paranoid me, right?_

But after ten minutes of fast walking, a faint, fairly far-off sound of a soft yelp and the clatter of a trashcan tipping over dashed her hopes of just being paranoid.

She started off into a run, rounding corners at break-neck speed and feeling her agitation rising as the sound of feet scraping over concrete got clearer- as did the sound of someone's voice being muffled and straining. And then those were quickly followed by hushed voices and snickers, and something else got tipped over and something shattered.

"M..mmm... l...t...e... go...!"

"No, no, no- be quiet now, got it? We're just talking..!"

"Yeah, just talking, you don't gotta get all worked up...!"

"Hey, quit moving so much...!"

"...mmph... p... ease...! S...op..!"

"He..hehe... you're real pretty, ya know..."

"Hey, ain't she one of the girls from Hikari..?"

"Oh yeah..! Come on, this is just like work for you, huh?"

"Yeah, ain't it your job to entertain us?"

"Totally, so start entertainin'...!"

The muffled yell was louder this time around, and the sound of struggling too. Spirit's jaw clenched so hard her teeth threatened to crack. She rounded the last corner and her eyes swept out across the small back alley clearing in three second time, taking in every little detail.

Six men, of varying sizes and shapes, all wobbly and many of them holding beer bottles, and completely smashed. Trash everywhere, puddles of filthy water too many to count. One barely functioning light stapled to one building, and much too far up to afford any light on the alley floor.

And one man, pinning a ruffled, and terrified Okita to the alley wall, his hand over her mouth and the other keeping her trapped in place- while a second and a third man hovered on either side of the first. One of them was playing with her hair and holding tightly to her left arm, while the other was slowly unzipping her jacket and kept her right arm still. And Okita was fidgeting and squirming underneath them, her cries smothered and nearly on the verge of tears, but none of her efforts made a difference. All of these men easily had at least 100 pounds on her, and the one with his hand over her mouth was the size of a fucking giant. Spirit would have been surprised if Okita could breathe with his dinner-plate hand on her face and throat.

All of it sent a wave of anger and rage rushing through Spirit like a goddamn wildfire. And even before the three seconds of her scanning the area were up, she was already making a beeline toward the nearest drunk asshole.

His blurry attention found her for no more than an instant before she grabbed tight hold of the front of his shirt, and the half-full beer bottle in his hand. Drunk Asshole #1 let out a startled yelp as she dug her heel into the cement and threw her weight around, dragging him with her and slamming him into the alley wall hard enough his teeth rattled. The air was driven from his lungs, dazing him and Spirit ripped the beer bottle from his hand, releasing his shirt and that hand finding the side of his face. She promptly slammed him into the wall again for good measure, and this time he slumped to the ground, groaning in pain and not likely to get to his feet anytime soon.

The commotion with #1 earned the attention of Drunk Asshole #2 a few feet ahead, and he whipped around unsteadily only to stumble back when Spirit threw the beer bottle in hand at him, and it smashed into his chest with a painful thump. He coughed, staggering backward but staying on his feet as that bottle and the one he had been holding on to hit the ground, and shattered.

By now #3, #4, #5 and the Giant were aware of the commotion and her sudden appearance in the alley behind them- but Spirit wasn't quite focused on them yet. She had darted forward and rounded on #2 slightly, gripping the back of his shirt and flinging him around to ram into a pile of trash cans. He lost his footing and fell among the trash heap with a groan, and Spirit glanced up, her furious glare locking with the Giant.

"Oi, ugly!" She snapped hotly, her voice scathing and biting on the cold air. The Giant turned his head to look at her, fury trickling into his face.

".. ugly...?" He echoed lowly, Spirit clicked her tongue.

"You fucking heard me." She hissed back, the Giant's face contorted further. "Let her go right now, and let's have you and the rest of you bloody assholes have a go at me instead. Kicking your asses will be damned good 'entertainment'." She hissed lowly, and the men frowned, the bleariness of their gazes sharpening just a bit in anger.

"What the hell did you just say?" Drunk Asshole #4 growled hotly,

"You think you can just bud in...?!" #3 snapped,

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" #5 yelled,

"I'm the one that's gonna kick all your asses." Spirit replied hotly,

"Like hell you are..!"

"There's more of us than you...!"

"Hah, scrawny chick like you? I think we'll have fun with both you, and the tiny one here."

Spirit hissed, hooking her foot underneath the the lid of a trashcan lying near her and flipping it up into the air. She caught it with ease, and in the next instant sent it spinning through air, aimed directly at the Giant's head.

The metal lid hit his skull with a satisfying clang, before clattering to the ground. His face darkened, glaring daggers at her as she returned the stare tenfold.

"I told you to let her go." Spirit muttered lowly.

The Giant growled, slamming Okita back against the wall rather roughly, before letting her go at last. The young girl let out a breathless gasp, dropping to her knees and sputtering for air as she coughed- but the Giant turned his back on her, and #3,4, and 5 turned to face Spirit all the way too.

"Big mistake." #4 muttered lowly, #3 and #5 nodding in agreement. The three of them and the Giant took a few, 'menacing' steps in her direction, though of course they were not as scary nor imposing to her as they might have been to someone else. All of them probably thought she was secretly shaking in her boots and putting up a face- and oh how wrong they were.

 _I've faced worse than you assholes, trust me._

Naturally, since she was a Pro Hero. Though in this situation all she could really afford to flaunt was her lack of fear and her hand-to-hand skills, but only just. She couldn't use her Quirk, lest she expose who she really was (and lose her clothes), and she couldn't really fight like a Pro would either- for the same reason as the first. She had to hold back, at least a little.

So no real fancy stuff, not unless she really needed it, and she doubted she would. Even without knowing what sorts of Quirks these guys might have, they were all very drunk and very unbalanced, which didn't make fighting easier by any means.

#3 was the first one to make a real move, his arms swinging out in her direction and elongating as he did so, easily clearing the space between them and Spirit huffed. She sidestepped and ducked underneath them at near the last moment, moving left and darting forward, clearing what space was between them in no time at all. He recoiled as she got closer, his arms flailing a little as he tried his best to use them and block her, but he couldn't retract them fast enough and her fist slammed hard against his jaw with a loud and painful thud.

He was sent sprawling backwards, falling against the concrete on his back and yelping. Spirit's eyes snapped to her right, #5 letting out an angry yell and throwing his fist out in a rushed and sloppy attempt of a punch. Spirit brought her arm up and jammed it into the inside of his, deflecting his punch to the side and swinging her free hand forward from the opposite side. She stiffened in the middle of it though, feeling her shirt sleeve on the arm she had used to deflect his hit suddenly catching on his skin and ripping- _ah shit._

There was little light available to see anything, or why her shirt ripped when her arm rubbed against his skin, but she could guess. And first thing that came to mind was a Quirk, and specifically one that either cut things he came into contact with, or hardened his skin into something not so flesh-like.

But she had too much momentum going in her punch to redirect or stop herself, and she grumbled internally, preparing herself for the very real possibility that punching this asshole was gonna hurt- like a lot more than usual.

Her left hand slammed into #5's jaw hard enough to crack teeth, though the only thing she heard crack were her fingers. Pain jolted through her bones and all the way up her arm, her fist met with what felt like a stone wall rather than a face, and her hand bounced off his cheek slightly, making the hit a lot less solid than it should have been. Her left hand and knuckles scraped and tore as they dragged across his now harsh, jagged, bumpy and rock-like skin, earning a well of blood in their quake. She bit back a wince of pain and let out an aggravated growl instead.

 _Yeah, definitely some sort of Hardening Quirk... ugh, what a pain._

She didn't let herself pause on it though, and she sure as hell didn't give him even two seconds to think he had gained the upper hand either. Her right hand snapped forward and grabbed to the tie around his neck, jerking him and his head down roughly and bringing her knee up to meet his chin with a jarring (and again, painful for her) uppercut. His teeth clacked together and he stumbled back, winded but not enough to be down and she kept on- releasing his tie as he and swinging her right fist backward. He was winded enough now that the next hit should do some damage, and she was squared now and more grounded- as opposed to her running at him with the first punch.

Her right fist crashed against the other side of his face, following through this time and sending him spinning backward, before promptly smacking against the alley wall behind him and hitting the floor with a groan. The knuckles on her right hand tore just as badly as the left had, and her bones cracked and ached under the impact, but still she bit back at the sting of pain and focused on her next target- the Giant. Who was now running at her, his heavy footfalls echoing off the alley walls.

He was huge, and surely packed a punch to boot- but his running was slow, and his reaction-times were sure to be just as sluggish, and more so given how badly his breath reeked of booze. He kept up his charge, headed straight toward her and clearing what distance remained between them in only a few steps, and Spirit waited for him to get closer.

She was faintly aware of Drunk Asshole #4 in the corner of her eye, though that guy looked about ready to piss himself at how quickly she'd downed #1,2,3 and 5- and she really doubted he'd muster up the courage to take a swing at her now, even with all that alcohol he was hopped up on.

The Giant swung a meaty fist down at her and she spun slightly to avoid it, stepping passed him and turning on her heel to face his back. His fist smashed into the ground, cracking the cement and Spirit took advantage of the precious few seconds he remained hunched over, the base of her foot colliding with the center of his back. The force behind the kick was enough to send him skidding forward onto his front and his face, despite his advantage in size. Spirit paused for only a few seconds to steady herself again on two feet, her mind racing with what her next move needed to be in order to deal with the big guy.

Movement in the corner of her eye halted that plan though, and her teeth grit as she quickly rounded on whatever was coming her way, jumping back in an instinctual attempt to avoid it.

#3 had apparently found his feet again even after getting punched in the face, and his Elasto-Arms were moving out toward her at breakneck speed from the other end of the alleyway. She managed to avoid him at first as he tried to grab hold of her, by rounding a set of garbage bins and other miscellaneous trash. But #3 was still hot on her trail and scooped up several metal bins of trash and tossed them and all their contents at her, and she had no way or avoiding it all. She missed two, but one of them was filled with no small amount of filthy, stinking rainwater mixed with who knows what else.

The water cascaded through the air, falling over her head and shoulders, drenching her- while also peppering her with smaller bits of filth that were mixed in. She closed her eyes against it instinctively, her arms moving up to shield her face and teeth gritting as her world got washed out in the sound of water splashing, and her nose filled with the scent of rot so strong her stomach turned at it.

But that fleeting moment where she stopped and her eyes shut? Big mistake.

She only heard one heavy footfall, her eyes snapping open and blurry from water dripping into them. And she only saw a big, hulking silhouette coming in fast- and she had no time to react, or dodge, or anything of the sort. What little her feet moved were just her shoes slipping across the now very wet cement.

The Giant was right next to her, angrier than ever now, and his hands swinging out toward her. Spirit's arms moved up, doing her best to try and block at least a little, but it didn't account for much- like not at all, really.

His fist slammed hard against her right side, straight into her torso and just under ribs, and with terrifying, unbelievable, absolutely brutal force. _Right where_ the Hero Killer had stuck his sword through her body a week prior.

Every shred of air left her lungs, agony burning like hellfire through her entire body and the wound, so red-hot it was icy cold all at once. No amount of stubbornness, experience or willpower could have kept her composure from crumbling just then, and she doubled over, her muscles locking and unable to breath- absolutely winded, and her thoughts wiped blank in an instant under all the pain. That _hurt,_ so much more than words could ever begin to describe. It maybe hurt worse than the sword going through the first time.

"K...kage..!" Okita's terrified voice rung out, but Spirit hardly heard her at all.

Spirit doubled over, folding in on herself and breathless as she coughed out what little air she had. The Giant's other hand clapped down onto her head and his fingers curled into her hair, jerking her up roughly and dragging her around a bit, before throwing her into the ground a few feet away.

Her body smacked against the cement in another wave of agony, her bones rattling and the wound in her side searing in a new wave of pain. Spirit gasped out as she hit the floor and stayed there, her body rigid and eyes shut, holding her breath against it and unmoving. Her jaw clenched, and she could taste blood on her tongue from her lip splitting upon her face hitting the cement, adding to the scarlet still staining her knuckles on her hands.

Of all the places he could have hit her, did it have to be _there?_

 _S..shit... That... That **really** fucking hurt..._

She let out the breath she was holding slowly and in a hiss, her teeth gritting further as her fingers curled into fists against the cement, her fingernails digging into her palms.

 _Damn it... now I am super pissed... tch..._

"Not so tough now are you..?!" #4 snapped, gaining a bit of bravado now that she'd actually taken a hit.

"That'll teach you to run your mouth like that!" #3 chimed in,

Spirit growled, her shoulders hunching slightly as she shifted and pressed her hands against the ground, forcing herself up and to sitting on her heels. Her hair hung and stuck to her face in stinking, watery tendrils and she shook her head furiously at what further pain moving caused- not that even that would stop her now, mind you. But she did pause for a second as she settled onto her knees, her left hand moving up to hold tenderly to where she'd been hit and her other hand steadying herself against the ground still, swallowing back at the pain as it continued to throb terribly, but the initial intensity was fading.

 _Ok, I am definitely gonna smash that Giant asshole's face in for that_

Drunk Asshole #3 moved up to stand beside where she was still hunched over on the ground. He sneered, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he glared down at her, and wrinkled his nose.

"Ugh, you smell like ass now." He muttered. Spirit shot him a glare, but she didn't lift her head enough for their eyes to meet, so she shot the look at his feet to her right instead. "Serves you right, bitch. You shouldn't have started a fight, cause now you're finished." He hissed lowly and Spirit stiffened, her eyes narrowing to slits as his feet shifted and he started to raise one.

 _\- but I'll get to smashing Giant's face in a second, first I deal with you, hmm?_

"Next time mind your own fucking business, huh?!" #3 yelled loudly, his foot raising higher and kicking out toward her.

Spirit's right hand shot up and caught the base of his foot in her palm in an instant, halting the kick dead in it's tracks. Her fingers curled around his shoe and her eyes raised enough this time that her steely, and deadly cold stare caught his gaze- and he paled at the look, and what amount of _murder_ there seemed to be in her eyes. More so as he instinctively tried to pull his foot back, but she wasn't letting go, and inklings of panic began to quickly spread over his face.

Spirit jerked his foot forward and to the side, instantly pulling his feet out from under him and sending #3 falling flat on his ass. He yelped as he made contact with the ground, eyes wide and frantic as she let go of his foot and was already moving again. She lift her right arm up and jammed her elbow backward, dead-center into his face, his nose making a sickening crack under the hit as he was thrown backward into the ground, and his head smacked against the concrete with a very loud thump.

His yell of pain rung on the air in the alleyway, wriggling and squirming as he held a profusely bleeding nose. All eyes (of those who had gotten back to their feet at all) turned from having migrated back to Okita and toward the sound, but Spirit wasn't on the ground anymore. She was on her feet already and moving fast, darting sideways and hoisting up a separate garbage bin filled to the brim with trash- she didn't care all what was in it, only that it was heavy.

She spun around once, pulling the bin around with her to gain momentum, before letting go again and sending it flying through the air straight toward the Giant guy. Some of the trash spilled out midair, but most of it's weight rammed into him straight on. Him being both too slow, and too surprised with Spirit moving again after that hit to dodge or even think of blocking it. It thudded against his chest and sent him stumbling backward, and Spirit was right in front of him in the next second, her tie (which had been around her neck, as per her uniform for the bar) now in her hand after unwinding it as she moved.

She ducked around the Giant, twisting her tie around his ankle and tugging up upward with all her might. He stumbled forward passed her, unbalanced and struggling to keep his composure as he was forced down onto one knee. Spirit released her hold on the tie and dug her heel into the ground hard, whipping her entire body around and and bringing her leg up in the same instant. Her leg smashed into the side of his face as he was brought level with her after being forced to his knee, the momentum and force behind the kick throwing him into the ground and earning a pained groan as the breath was driven from him.

Spirit stepped back down, straightening herself a bit and hissing when he started to push himself back up again- _oh no, not a chance._

Her hands clapped down onto the back of his shirt, pulling him around with her as she kept him from getting to his feet by tossing him forward a bit (as much she could anyway... She was stronger than she looked, but he weighed a ton).

He stumbled again, his palms scraping across the ground and grunting as he rolled a bit. And still he tried to get to his feet, grumbling and huffing as he shot a blood-shot glare back at her, but his eyes only ever locked to her fist a centimeter or two from his face.

She punched him, her bones rattling again and the torn flesh of her knuckles stinging like hell with the impact- and the much too violent force she put behind it, but she was seething and couldn't care.

This time around the Giant seemed to take the hint, or was otherwise too battered and dizzy to keep up. #4 darted up from fidgeting on the sidelines the whole time and quickly began to try and drag the larger man to his feet, casting furtive and terrified glances at Spirit all the while. #2 stumbled over to help #3 up off the ground, his hands clapped over a very broken nose and dripping blood as they both hurried toward the exit of the alleyway, where #1 was already running off without a second thought. The Giant and #4 scrambled to their feet, stumbling after all the rest in wobbly, unsteady fashion and grumbling all the while.

Spirit stood in her spot, straight-backed, soaked, dirty, knuckles bloody, lip too, and her 'blue' eyes glinting in fury as she watched them all scurry off in retreat. She grit her teeth, panting slightly and feeling her body shaking, her fingers gripping to the bottom of her vest as the throbbing from the stab wound kept on on ultra-high, and steadily got worse as the rush and adrenaline of (the very short-lived) fight came to a close.

Seriously, this sucked. Like _really_ sucked.

She was so angry, at all of them, and Stain, and every little bad or suspicious thing that has happened today. And herself too, for letting any of it happen at all.

An all new surge of pain rushing through her caused her to stiffen though and break off her thoughts, sucking in a sharp breath of air and her eyes shutting tight against it, and she hunched a little too without wanting it.

 _... Craaaaap... I really hope the stitches didn't rip because of that... Please, please don't have ripped._

She couldn't tell though, and she hadn't time to pause and try to figure it out either. What her mind turned to next while ignoring all the pain, anger, herself and whatever else- was Okita.

Spirit turned around, her eyes landing on the young girl pressed against the back wall and her knees drawn into her chest, still sitting on the ground, petrified. Her teary, purple eyes darted up and matched with Spirit's as she started to take a few (albeit stiff) steps toward her, Spirit biting back at the way the throbbing increased as she began to move.

Okita sucked in a shaky breath of air as Spirit started toward her, flecks of moisture pecking at the corners of her eyes and trembling. She looked frazzled, and her jacket had been unzipped, but other than that she didn't look hurt anywhere- at least not that Spirit could tell just then.

"... K...Kage..." Okita stammered breathlessly, Spirit nodded a bit.

"You okay?" Spirit murmured gently, drawing up beside the girl. She slowly dropped down into a crouch on the balls of her feet, her hand sliding along the wall to help keep herself steady, and swallowing against the sharp stab of pain that followed. "... You aren't hurt, are you? No injuries?" Spirit pressed further, her hands hovering slightly and hesitating on reaching out toward the girl, lest she not want the contact.

Okita shook her head slowly, sucking in another breath of air and holding it this time in an attempt to steady herself. She let it out as slow as she could manage, shaking herself out a bit and unhooking her hands from gripping her knees.

"I... I think I'm OK..." She stammered, her eyes falling from Kage and landing on her shaking hands. She swallowed hard, her eyes closing for a few seconds as she did her best to steady her breathing some more, and Spirit watched her quietly. "... Y... Yeah... I'm okay... They just... That freaked me out... B... But they didn't hurt me... It... It was just... Sc...scary..." She hissed, shaking her head a little and her shoulders hunching. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, nodding a bit to the younger girl's words.

"I know." Spirit murmured softly, Okita sucked in a deep breath of air and let it out slower than all the rest. After a moment the young girl stiffened, her eyes snapping back up and toward Spirit.

"Oh, K-Kage, are you okay...?" She asked quickly, her eyes glittering like mad as her eyes darted from Spirit's bloody lip to her torn up knuckles and about everywhere else in between. "Y-you got hurt...! A-and that guy hit you really hard..!" She stammered quickly and Spirit shook her head a bit, silencing the girl.

"I'm okay." She murmured with ease (and lied... But she couldn't very well let her pain show about the stab wound that Okita couldn't know about).

"B-but you..." Okita stammered, Spirit shook her head.

"Don't worry about me, Okita." Spirit murmured softly, her left hand extending slowly toward the girl. "Come on, I'm gonna take you home." Spirit told her gently, and Okita hesitated, her eyes finding Spirit's hand.

Tentatively she reached out, their fingers winding together as Spirit nodded at her.

"Good, you're gonna be okay. I promise, I'll get you home safe."

 **.:+:.**

Okita never let go of holding on to Spirit's hand the whole trek through the dark and quiet streets of Shinjuku Kabukicho. There were few people out and about at the latest hour it was, and what few they did pass by only cast them wary glances. (Most assuredly most of the looks they earned were because of Spirit's haggard appearance, but even then seeing someone bleeding and ruffled was sort of commonplace in this district... especially at this late hour.)

Okita said little to nothing the whole way. Nothing, apart from small words on directions toward where she lived here and there, and Spirit just nodded in affirmation of them all. Mostly her attention was fixed on ignoring the ache and throbbing in her body, and blinking furiously several times a minute in a futile attempt at clearing her blurry vision... Some section of filth, and/or other tiny bits of garbage had gotten into her eyes when she got soaked with the trashcan rainwater, and her color contacts were dirty now. They were irritating her eyes quite a bit, while also making it hard to see clearly, and it was rather agitating. She couldn't wait to take them out, but she would have to wait until Okita was back home and settled to do so.

And once Spirit got back to her own home, she could do more than just take out the contacts- she could take a shower, for one. And she could take a look at the stab wound and see if all the pain it was causing her now was because the stitches had ripped, or otherwise... Because of course the wound being punched did nothing to help, but how much damage had it actually done?

 _... Not a lot... I hope..._

"... Y.. You... You are a really good fighter, Kage..." Okita's soft voice spoke up after a long time, and Spirit blinked in tired surprise.

"... Hmm? I guess do well enough..." Spirit mumbled softly, Okita shook her head slightly, her eyes on the ground as they moved, shoulder to shoulder and their hands still linked together.

"No... You... Were amazing..." Okita mumbled slowly, and Spirit cast the girl a sideways glance but never caught her eye. "... You beat them all... You were outnumbered, and their Quirks... That guy was so much bigger than you... But you didn't hesitate... And you did so well... I never imagined you could do something like that..."

Spirit glanced away, electing for silence instead of replying to any of it... What was she supposed to say anyway? It's not like she could explain that she could fight was because she was actually a Pro Hero.

"... Thank you, for saving me." Okita murmured quietly, her hand squeezing tighter around Spirit's.

"... You don't have to thank me." Spirit mumbled, glancing ahead and away from Okita altogether. Okita cast a glance up at Spirit at that, her purple eyes glittering in the dim and quiet, almost thoughtful... And Spirit never saw the look.

Silence fell between them again for the rest of the way, Okita slowing up and Spirit following her lead as they came up on an apartment building stuffed between two other very large buildings that looked... Less than functional. And the apartment building itself looked a little rough outside, even for Redlight District standards. Their hands separated for the first time and Okita wrung hers together in front of her, her feet fidgeting a bit.

"...uhm... This is it." Okita mumbled, her eyes moving up to Spirit shyly.

"Alright, do you need me to walk you to your door?" Spirit asked quietly, and Okita paused, her eyes darting away again almost nervously.

"... I... Would like that but...not just..." Okita started and Spirit tilted her head a bit. "... Uhm... Kage..." She started and then trailed off again, looking a little frustrated with herself now and Spirit blinked.

Okita quit her fidgeting with her feet and took in a deep breath, her hands pulling apart and her arms moving to stick straight at her sides. She snapped her head up, her eyes locking with Spirit's and the nervousness on her face suddenly replaced with... _Is that determination, or...?_

"Kage, please come inside and stay, at least for a little..!" Okita said quickly, her voice hushed but surprisingly steady and Spirit stiffened, a little taken aback.

 _... Uh... What...? Stay...?_

"... I'm... Sorry...?" Spirit mumbled reflexively, Okita's eyes flashed.

"Y-You're hurt, regardless if you say you're fine or not...! A-And you got hurt helping me, I have to make it up to you somehow, and thank you for what you did...!" Okita replied, "You can come in, I h-have a first aid kit and I'll help clean and dress your injuries... A-and you can take a shower, and get washed up too from getting all dirty, and I can lend you some clothes... O-or I can make us some tea or something... Please just let me help take care of you, at least a little bit..! I owe you at least that much for how hard you worked to... To protect me, Kage...! A-and for walking me all the way home...!"

Spirit stared slightly, her expression blank and kinda lost for words... Because that was _the most_ amount of words Okita had ever said to her all at once. By far.

"... Ah... Okita it's really not necessary-" Spirit started, and it wasn't. But mostly the protest came from the fact that it was literally the last thing she wanted to do. She just wanted to go home... She _needed_ to go home.

"-please Kage!" Okita cut her off though, and Spirit grumbled silently. ".. I h-have to do at least something... Y-you got hurt protecting me, while I just... Sat there... Please Kage, I want to help you...!" She pressed still, and Spirit jaw clenched at the way Okita's purple eyes shown as she said it, and how her voice seemed to tighten too.

 _... Why is she so persistent on this...?_

Spirit's eyes dropped closed as she bit the inside of both cheeks, silence falling between the both of them again.

 _I really don't want to stay out here any longer than I have to-_

"Please." Okita murmured again, halting Spirit's thoughts and earning her eyes opening up again. Spirit stiffened, feeling her stomach churn as Okita suddenly lowered herself into a bow, her hands folded together against her knees and head lowered. "... Please, Kage... Let me return the kindness you showed for me tonight. Let me make it up to you, as much as I am able."

Spirit stiffened, her teeth gritting further at the bowing younger and her eyes narrowing to slits at the gesture.

 _... Why... Why does this mean so much to her...? I don't get it... But shit._

Spirit stifled a groan of exasperation, her head tilting up toward the dark and overcast sky for a moment, and gritting her teeth even further.

 _Tch..._

Her head tilted back down, cursing herself in her head more than a few times, and settling a stare on Okita. Who was still bowed and not looking up at her.

"... Fine, but I'm only staying for a little while." Spirit grumbled at length, and Okita glanced up swiftly, her eyes glittering in the dim.

"... Y..yes...! I understand..!" Okita murmured, nodding quickly and Spirit let out a silent sigh. "Thank you...! P-please... Follow me...!"

The walk up the four flights of stairs to Okita's door was goddamn torture on Spirit, her fingers gripping the handrail so hard her knuckles turned white. She hardly dared to breathe for how hard she was trying to stifle winces of pain or whatever. And she was paying little attention to anything Okita said as they stepped inside the younger girl's apartment, the light switching on brightening a room that had been pitch black two seconds before. The abrupt change made Spirit's eyes shut instinctively, and she stood in the small genkan at the door with them shut for a few moments, while Okita quickly worked to pull off her shoes.

"... I-I'll get you a bag to put your clothes in, and lend you some of mine, so you have something clean to change into after you take a shower..." Okita explained quickly, already out of her shoes and heading further into the apartment ahead of Spirit. Spirit opened her eyes as the girl said it, ready to protest- but Okita had already disappeared around a corner ahead of her.

Spirit grumbled, chewing on the inside of her cheek for a moment, before starting to take her shoes off as well (with a little difficulty...).

Once she'd managed it, she stepped up cautiously and blinked a few times, hoping in vain her vision would clear- but unless she took the contacts out, that wasn't likely to happen. What she made out of Okita's home was little, it was cozy and quaint, and rather clean on the inside and well kept in comparison to how the outside of the building had looked. Of course there were a few bits of wear and tear, but it was decorated with little knickknacks stacked on small shelves, pictures on the walls and whatnot. The entrance connected with a hallway that opened up into a living room, covered in tatami mats and with a small kotatsu table in the center. To the left was a little kitchen corner, and to the right lead to what Spirit assumed was Okita's bedroom, and where the girl had disappeared to.

Spirit moved right slowly, pausing at the entrance to the room and catching sight of Okita digging through her closet. Spirit didn't move an inch, she just let her eyes drop to the floor and waited in silence until Okita found what she was looking for, and glanced her way.

"U-uhm... These might be a little snug on you, but they should be okay." Okita murmured softly, clothes in her hand. And 'Snug' might have been putting it politely, considering Okita was a bit smaller (and much shorter) than Spirit was. "... I put a plastic bag in the bathroom, and a few towels for you. I'll set these in there and you can wash up... I-I'll make some tea, in the meantime, and I'll help with your injuries when you're done... I'll have to grab the first-aid kit in the kitchen..." She mumbled quickly, her eyes falling from Spirit and to the clothes in her hands almost shyly, and Spirit sighed silently.

 _... I guess a shower is fine, I can wash off the blood... and it'll give me time to take a look at this stupid stab wound by myself too... It might also be good not to smell like a garbage can anymore._

"... Alright." Spirit murmured softly and Okita nodded, quickly depositing the clothes in the bathroom attached to the room, and then brushing passed Spirit and out of the bedroom entirely. She closed the door behind her and left Spirit in silence, her eyes lingering on the bedroom door for a few seconds, before heading into the bathroom, and closing that door behind her too.

Spirit let out a long, heavy sigh, her hands finding traction on the sink counter and leaning against it slightly as what little composure she had managed on the walk here, just suddenly shattered. Her head bowed, hanging as her eyes closed, silent and unmoving for a few long seconds that seemed to last so much longer.

 _... So much of today just sucks..._

 _... It's not even 'today' anymore though... It's already the next day... But whatever... The point still stands..._

She tilted her head back up, grumbling under her breath and bending over just a bit. She slowly pulled open the drawers attached to the sink counter, blinking several times a minute as she scanned through the contents. A bit rude maybe, but she was only really interested in one sort of thing in particular.

 _First things first, get these fucking contacts out, they're annoying the hell out of me._

A few drawers in, she found what she was searching for- a little pile of throwaway cups of the like you'd use for mouthwash or whatever. She plucked two up from the many and filled them with water, before working to remove the color contacts from her eyes and deposit them in one cup each... Rendering her 'blue' eyes their regular crimson and sighing when her vision finally cleared near all the way. And then she actually got a good look at herself in the mirror, and she grimaced.

 _I look like crap_

And she really did. Bloody lip, scrapes and soaked like a drowned rat. Her shirt sleeves were torn and her other bits of clothes were stuck with dirt and other flecks of rotting food and ick. Her hair had mostly fallen out of the bun she had had it in, and her vest was lacking a tie- she'd not actually bothered to get it back after using in in the fight. And the worst of all the outside damage was her hands, the flesh of her knuckles and fingers ripped up and cached in dry blood, and already bruising. And rather swollen in general actually... _That's what you get when you punch someone with a Quirk that makes them as hard as a rock._

But if she looked this bad just outwardly, she could not imagine what the wound in her side must look like. Small mercy her vest was black, and if she was bleeding from ripped stitches or anything you couldn't tell easily.

She sighed again and turned the shower on, wanting to at least get it running before Okita wondered why she had taken so long to get undressed.

The air started to steam as she managed to get her socks and pants off, and was warming up as she worked to unbutton the vest and then slowly pull it back- and hissed under her breath when she saw the crimson stains peppered across the white collared shirt underneath it.

 _Shit_

She bit down on her tongue as she undid the buttons on the long sleeve, and slowly began to take it off too. She pulled her left arm out first and then held her breath as the shirt fabric stuck to her skin and the wound from the blood, and she had to literally peel it off. And that _really_ hurt.

She hunched a bit, her teeth gritting and body rigid as her left hand pushed against the counter for support and her right hand held tightly to the shirt itself- holding it up and off her body after pulling it off the wound, but not bothering to pull her arm out of the sleeve just yet. She stayed still, a low, strained hiss escaping passed her lips and legs shaking as the persistent throb of pain rose into something sharper and hotter after agitating it with the shirt.

 _Fucking... Hell..._

She gave it a few long moments, sucking in a breath of air and doing her best to let it out slowly... Hoping it would help to settle herself and the pain too before she tried anything further, or tried to get a good look at the damage. When the pain did recede enough she could take it, she pulled her arm out of the sleeve and dropped the blood-stained white shirt into a heap atop her other discarded clothes on the countertop.

 _... Well... That shirt is definitely ruined..._

She took in a deep breath and straightened a bit, turning her eyes to the wound and frowning to herself as she scanned it. It was definitely agitated, and inflamed to all hell- and yes, it looked like some of the stitches had pulled and tightened quite a bit, but not pulled all the way out.

So hey, they weren't ripped, and hadn't been totally reopened... But the wound was definitely swollen, and hurt like an absolute bitch, even at the littlest things. What blood that had ruined her white shirt seemed to have only been a small amount, and it was mostly dry now and not at all fresh. The wound must have only bled after she had first gotten hit, but stopped soon after.

So great, it was not as bad as it could have been, just overall very irritating. More so at the thought that she was probably going to be really sore after this, and it would take little for the wound to cause her real pain for at least a few days.

 _... If I'm not careful on that Patrol with Feathers and the Interns, I might do something that'll really really hurt... Ugh_

She shook her head at herself and undressed the rest of the way. She stepped into the shower, her fists clenching at the very unpleasant stab of pain that followed as the warm water splashed against the wound. She gave it a few moments to fade back out a little, before sighing and slowly washing out her bloody knuckles, hair, and everywhere else. Little by little, doing away with the bulk of the filth, blood and the grime, and washing off the putrid scent that had come with it. And after awhile, the shower felt kind of nice... Warm (much warmer than her own shower could ever get) and soothing, and she felt the tautness in her muscles from the fighting, anger and the pain slowly fade away with the mess.

 _... Mmmm... I have to call the Club Owner and let him know what happened... Okita's gonna need a few days off after this..._

She ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes closed and sighing as she stood still for a moment. The warmth of the water pecking against her skin and washing over her was wonderful. But for a split second, all of that faded in a flash of anger igniting again in her core at the thought of what had happened.

 _... Those assholes... What they tried to do... Tch..._

She shook her head and threw all of the thoughts away. She hadn't the energy to get worked up about it all over again, so she wouldn't.

Thogugh she did silently promise that if she ever saw those men again, she would teach them another (harsher) lesson- preferably when there was no Okita or anyone else watching, and she wouldn't have to limit herself on ability... You know, so no one questioned why 'Kage' seemed to fight as well as you might expect a Pro Hero (or Villain) to, and started asking unwanted questions.

Spirit stayed in the shower in utterr silence a little while longer, just enjoying the warmth of the water and running her fingers absently through her hair, picking out tangles where she could find them. She felt her mind slipping toward somewhere quiet and blissfully empty more and more as she did so, until eventually she caught herself staring into space for a bit too long, and decided it was probably time to get out.

She shut the water off and stepped out slowly, pulling up one of the towels Okita had stacked on the counter. She dried off quickly, taking care to be gentle around the stab wound and wringing the moisture out of her hair. She pulled on the sweatpants that Okita had left for her, and smiled wearily when they were more capris than the full-length pants they were supposed to be.

Spirit smiled wryly to herself, sighing as she picked up her bra from the pile of her own clothes, and grimaced slightly at the dampness of it, but it wasn't too bad. She put it on, and then paused breifly in getting dressed to pull her damp hair up into a loose ponytail, and stuff her other clothes away in the plastic grocery bag Okita had fished out for her. She was halfway through that endeavor when movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention, and a soft few knocks on the door.

"U-uhm, sorry Kage... I just wanted to make sure you were okay... And that the clothes weren't way too small...?" Okita's soft voice filtered in, the doorway sliding open just a crack. Enough Okita could peer inside the small sliver of an opening, and her purple eyes locked on to 'Kage' standing at the sink with her blood-stained shirt in hand, unmoving.

First, Okita's face went bright red- probably at Spirit's lack of a shirt and just being in a bra- and for it the young girls nervousness ignited on ultrahigh in no time at all. She sucked in a startled breath of air, her eyes going wide as her attention snapped quickly away from Spirit's lack of a shirt and found what she was holding in her hand- the bloody shirt, and that breath she'd sucked in stalled in Okita's throat, her heart skipping a beat. Her eyes snapped to the swollen stitching threaded into Spirit's flesh, the red flush from Okita's face disappearing in an instant as she paled at the sight of the wound.

The young girl's mouth fell open, moving a bit as if she meant to say something, but the words never came out. Instead, Okita's eyes slowly moved from the wound and up- matching with Spirit's crimson gaze for the first time since cracking the door open, and Spirit could only stare. Her mind had shuddered to a halt at Okita's completely unexpected intrusion. While conversely, Okita's mind seemed to be racing now.

The girl went from flustered and flushed, to stunned and white as a sheet in about six seconds flat, her mouth still dropped and trembling now as her violet eyes glittered like mad.

"...y..you... Y...you're..." Okita stammered, her voice breathless and faint, the confusion, shock and question on her face quickly morphing into realization.

"... You're... Animal Spirit..." Okita nearly squeaked,

Spirit felt a heavy weight fall into the pits of her stomach, stiffening and rigid at the words instantly. Okita backed up from the door a bit, swallowing hard as she shook her head once or twice in disbelief, and then promptly fell out of sight altogether. A heavy thud sounded on the other side of the door as the girl hit the floor, and Spirit blinked rapidly.

 _Did she just...?_

Spirit hissed, her eyes flashing and frowning as her thoughts stopped whirling for a few seconds, and her shock wore off in the next instant.

"... Shit!"

 **.:+:.**

 _...tch... Damn it, I should have known this was a bad idea..._

Spirit grumbled under her breath a bit, shaking her head at herself and carefully picking the steaming kettle up off the stove. Truthfully, it had been more than ready to come off the stove earlier than now, but she'd been a little busy trying to rouse Okita after the girl fainted at the realization that her house guest 'Kage' was actually the Ebony Hero.

 _How the hell did she piece that together so fast anyway? I mean even without the color contacts, or with the wound, pegging me as Animal Spirit that quickly? That's all kinda a really big leap._

 _I've been working at the Club for a little over a year now and no one has caught on, at all. Okita's been here for only two weeks, and she figured it out._

Spirit shook her head and huffed, picking the kettle up in hand and heading out of the kitchen slowly toward the living room and the kotasu table... To which Okita was sitting cross-legged beside, her face in her hands and elbows on the tabletop, utterly quiet. She'd settled there in stiff silence after Spirit had managed to wake her up and get her to her feet, and had been staring at the tabletop in slightly panicked silence before deciding it best to hide her face from the rest of the world instead. And apart from Spirit's few little commands and instructions on getting her up and to sit and try to just calm down, there had been nothing else said between them- and Okita had not said a word.

Hell, she hadn't even dared to _look_ at Spirit at all, and she seemed to plan on sticking to that line of action now even as Spirit approached the table, two cups and a pot filled with tealeaves already set out. Okita had done most of the preparation before deciding to peek in on Spirit, and now after the aforementioned fainting and 'secret identity' exposing- here they were.

 _And what the hell am I supposed to do about this?_

Spirit shook her head again and drew up on the other side of the table from Okita, bending down slowly onto one knee with the kettle still in hand and hissing lightly under breath when doing so sent a stab of pain rushing through her from the wound. She faltered in her movement about halfway through, gritting her teeth against it, before continuing stiffly onto her knees and setting the kettle on the tabletop. The show of pain actually managed to earn Okita's eyes from behind her fingers, but it was fleeting and Spirit certainly didn't notice the glance as she silently began to pour the water into pot, before setting the kettle back down on the table top again.

Spirit shifted a little to sit cross-legged, her posture wilting once she had done so and her eyes dropped closed, letting out a long, deep sigh. She was actually wearing a shirt now by the way, the one that Okita had lent her- and unlike the pants, it fit fairly well... Which was nice, it didn't cling to the wound on her side too much that way.

(And it probably also helped in calming Okita down a little too... flustered reactions that came with her being shirtless aside, the young girl would have probably been unnerved further if she could get good look at the wound still.)

But all of that was less important than the main thing-

"... So needless to say, you really weren't supposed to know about... Well, _me_." Spirit said at length, her voice shattering the silence of the house. Okita's shoulders stiffened, her hands slowly lowering from her face just enough her eyes peeked out from over the top of her fingers, her gaze searching the older woman. But Spirit's eyes were still shut and not looking Okita's way.

"... And I'm not gonna try and play it off or deny it either, even though I might like to... I get the feeling it wouldn't work. You guessed who I was way too fast for me to be able to dodge the assumption... I think you are pretty sure of it, and I won't convince you otherwise no matter what I might try... so I won't." Spirit added, though internally she hated that last bit, but whatever for now-

"I would like to know how, or why, you came to the conclusion of who I am, as fast as you did though." Spirit kept on, and Okita's eyes dropped again. Spirit blinked her eyes open this time, her crimson gaze steady and level even as Okita tried to avoid direct eye contact, and her tone was calm as could be. If a bit low, and serious too.

But this was a serious matter (mishap?), so it was called for. Spirit just had to remind herself who she was talking to, and that she couldn't be too curt or cold with the girl, lest she make her even more nervous than she was... Or make her pass out again.

"... I... I'm... Sorry..." Okita stammered at last, slowly and her voice just shy of a whisper. "... I... I didn't mean to... I just... I... I can't believe this whole time... I've b-been working with... A... And talking to... To _the_ Animal Spirit... And... I never imagined..." She started, rambling a bit and Spirit's jaw clenched slightly.

"... Okita, how did you figure out it was me that quickly?" Spirit pressed again, cutting off the girl's rambling with ease. "For most people it would take more than just taking out the color contacts and seeing the wound... Hell, I don't think most people would even automatically figure _where_ that wound came from at all, if they saw it. They'd be too shocked or concerned, or ask too many questions to put two and two together... But you did, didn't you?"

"Uh... Y..yes..." Okita squeaked.

"How?" Spirit asked again, and Okita's hands moved up to pull at her bangs nervously.

"...uhm... Well... T-the thing is... Well it's... My Quirk..." Okita started off uncertainly and Spirit's eyes narrowed a little. "... B-because of my Quirk, I am really, really good at memorizing things... Even small details a-and things other people would forget or find unimportant... I'm just detail-oriented to an extreme... So I pick up on specific things, e-especially about other people... And I can r-recognize those specific details really easily... So..." She trailed off for a moment, her face flushing as she stared at the table and tugged on her bangs a bit more. "... T-that's why I can remember all the orders at work, a-and where they go without having to write them down... t...though I still write them down for you...but... well... A-and I remember important dates too, a-and the way people move, how they talk, what clothes they wear on a specific day..." She swallowed a bit, flushing further as her eyes shut tight.

"S-so... Well I'm... I'm such a huge fan of... Of _you_ , so I read a lot of stuff, and watch all the videos and news coverage of y-you... I've memorized h-how you fight, your moves, your different Forms... and your general l-look, weight... O-other appearance stuff... A-and I remember every detail of... Of the f-fight against the Hero Killer, f-from the leaked footage, a...and exactly where... He... H-hurt you... How..." Okita kept on, her voice dropping near the end there and stiffening. She shook her head a bit and sucked in a big breath of air, holding it for a few seconds, before letting it out again.

"... Y.. You... See... I actually sort of thought that... You know, you did kinda look like Animal Spirit, that first day I met you... Just for a split second..." Okita mumbled, "... Same height, build, hair color... E-even your voice sounded familiar from the news... But I just threw that idea away, b-because I couldn't imagine... Why you would work there... And I didn't think about it again..." She paused, her shoulders hunching a bit further. "B-but then you changed your regular shift for this week to Happy Hour... A-and I thought about it again... Well, you usually work on Animal Spirit's off hours... And then right when you changed your shift, she- oh, uhm, y-you- started that Internship... With the boy from UA... But... But I just thought it was coincidence...! I-it had to be, right...?"

She broke off for a few moments longer this time, her eyes still shut tight and her hands still on her bangs... But no longer tugging at them and fidgeting.

"... But... When you showed up tonight... The way you fought against those guys... I-it wasn't really noticeable at all... B-but the way you moved... The way you used your tie as a rope... It was all so familiar to h-how I recognize how Animal Spirit fights ... A-and then that guy hit you, and it looked like it hurt so bad... B-but... I still wasn't sure... N-not until I saw... In the bathroom..." She trailed off all the way this time for a few very long moments, and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek. "... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to... To barge in... I k-know it's none of my business... I'm sorry..." Okita finished softly, and Spirit sighed internally.

 _... Of course the one person who has a Quirk that makes her 100% aware of every little detail ended up at the exact same club I bartend at... It's not a wonder she pegged me if all of that is true... But shit, that's just my luck, isn't it?_

 _Oi... What a mess... Wait, if she's wondered about me possibly being Animal Spirit since the start... Is that why she's always been so jumpy around me?_

"... I.. I swear... I won't tell anyone about you... O-or who you are... I won't post it on the internet or anything, and I won't say anything to the others at work... I won't tell a single person, I promise...!" Okita told her quickly, her eyes finally moving up and meeting Spirit's for the first time in a long while, and the Pro paused, expression neutral. "I d-don't really understand why you work at the Club... B-but it's none of my business, and you clearly want your privacy or else you wouldn't be keeping all this secret... S-so I won't out you or anything, I swear...! S-so please don't feel as if you n-need to... To stop working around me, or anything... I w-won't do anything that'll cause suspicion... O-or make you distrust me... A-and I won't press you for anything, you don't have to explain anything to me...!"

Spirit just held Okita in a quiet stare, their eyes locked and unwavering as Okita said her piece in a quick, hushed, and yet utterly serious tone. She meant it, all her promises and whatever... And Spirit just felt exhausted for it. Both at the many (many) assurances, and that ever persistent twinge of unease and paranoia still lurking ever in her core. Because this?

This was the absolute _last_ thing she had ever wanted to happen from working at the Club... Hell, just living here in the Red Light District. No one was supposed to know Kage was Animal Spirit, and that Animal Spirit actually lived and worked as a bartender in the most notorious District of the city. The sheer scandal alone... Plus all the unwanted questions and attention that would come with it.

She didn't trust anyone with knowing both halves of her life, and she never wanted to be in the situation where she would have to... _Yet here we are._

 _And it's this nervous, flighty as hell girl I met literally two weeks ago. And know literally **nothing** about._

 _... I should have just gone home once I got her here... I hate myself_

"... It's a big ask, Okita." Spirit said at length, her voice low. "... I know you mean what you're saying, and I would really appreciate if you did keep this between us... Fact is, I _need_ you to. Nobody can know, and I can't talk about this really at all... Especially not in public or anything." Spirit murmured, and Okita blinked. "But it's not just privacy or whatever that I don't tell anybody who I am, you know. There's things that can happen to people who know Pro Heroes, dangerous things... And it's especially dangerous for people who know things about Pros that the rest of the world knows so little about. You could become a target if a Villain or the wrong person ever even got wind of you, and you knowing who I am, and where I work... You understand that, right?" Spirit asked lowly, and Okita stiffened slightly.

And it didn't just extend to knowing about Spirit- if Okita really did pick up on such fine details, and memorize so much that she could tell who Spirit was just from her movements and general appearance? That kind of Quirk and extreme attention to detail could be used to gather information on just about anything. And that information could be used to manipulate things and people, and as a serious edge or weapon in the right circumstances... Which made Okita a bigger asset and potential weapon than the girl probably even realized.

"... I understand that... I know lots of Pros don't ever have personal relationships or anything public, because the people they know might become targets... Or be used as leverage, or to get information on Heroes..." Okita mumbled, "... It's a real risk that comes with being a Pro Hero, and all the work you put in to dismantle criminal activity, and defeat Villains... You get targeted sometimes, and the people that know you are easy to prey on... I know that." Okita told her softly. "... And I know I'm probably the last person you would have ever even trusted with knowing who you are... I'm sorry, I made this a huge mess... But I promise, on everything I have... I will never tell a single soul, or let it be known that I have this information... I won't ever do anything to put you in danger, or out you... Nobody will ever know any of this happened. _I swear_."

Spirit sighed a bit, her eyes flashing as Okita gave her one, solemn, stiff nod as she made the promise... And regardless of the certainty, and hearing no lie in the girl's voice, Spirit couldn't get rid of the unease all the way.

 _Never all the way..._

"... Alright." Spirit mumbled, nodding back just once and letting her eyes drop to the tea pot that had been left to stew for the whole conversation. She picked it up lightly in her hands and poured some into the cups that had been set out. She set the pot back down again, Okita mumbling a soft thanks as Spirit hooked her fingers around her own cup and drew it closer.

"... Okita, how many people know about your Quirk?" Spirit asked after a few moments of Okita sipping at her tea, and the girl jumped a little at the question.

"... Uhm... Just... You... And maybe two others... Friends of mine... From when I used to live in... Kyoto..." Okita mumbled, Spirit nodded a bit.

"... I wouldn't let any more people know about it... And that you can collect and memorize such detailed information, even things others might never notice." Spirit told her quietly, "If you aren't careful, some day you are going to piece together something dangerous, like how you pieced together who I was... And you don't want a target placed on you for something you have no part in. Or to be used to hurt other people, willingly or not."

"... R-right..." Okita murmured quickly, nodding her head stiffly a few times. "... U...uhm... Animal Spirit...?" Okita started, and Spirit shook her head.

"... It'll be easier on you, if you just keep calling me Kage." Spirit told her softly, "... Less chance you slip up when we aren't alone."

"O-oh... That... That makes sense... B-but it feels... Odd..." Okita stammered, and Spirit sighed. "I-I... I mean it's not your real name, is it...? 'Kage'...?"

"... No, but technically Animal Spirit isn't my real name either." Spirit replied, her eyes on her tea and not the younger girl. "... But if you have to, you can just call me Spirit when we're completely alone like this... As long as you remember it's _Kage_ everywhere else." Spirit relented lowly, and Okita nodded once.

"A-alright..." Okita murmured, and Spirit tilted her head back slightly, her eyes falling closed as she took a drink of her tea.

"... I just... Are you alright?" Okita asked after Spirit took her drink, and the Pro blinked her eyes open slowly. "... When you got hit earlier... Did the wound you got from... From the Hero Killer... Get reopened...? Y-you only got injured a week ago... It hasn't been very long since it happened.. And... Well you were holding back when you fought those guys... To try and not reveal who you are... If I hadn't been there, you would have been able to use your Quirk... And you might not have gotten hit like that... Or..."

"... No, it's not reopened or anything. It's just agitated, so I'm sore." Spirit replied evenly, shaking her head a bit. "Don't worry about it, or about you being there or whatever, it's not your fault." Okita looked little reassured by the words though... But Okita let it be, her eyes dropping into her own tea cup for a long while before slowly trailing up and toward the first-aid kit she had dug out earlier and set on the tabletop, untouched and mostly unnoticed for the whole of the conversation. Upon taking note of it again however, her eyes quickly moved from it and across the table toward Spirit, trailing along the dark bruising and tears torn into her hands and knuckles, and the woman's split lip too, and Okita bit the insides of her cheeks.

"... Uhm... S.. Spirit...?" Okita stammered softly, and Spirit glanced up slowly after having faded away into her own thoughts and quiet for a few minutes there. She blinked, her head tilting a bit as she met Okita's eyes, and the younger girl set her cup back down on the top of the table.

"Hmm...?" Spirit hummed a bit tiredly,

"... Ah... Please, let me treat your hands." Okita mumbled softly, her head tilting toward Spirit's hands and earning a blink of surprise from the Pro. Okita was already reaching for the first-aid kit and pulling it closer, shifting out of her sitting position and getting ready to get closer before Spirit actually registered what she was doing.

"Oh, you don't need to-" she started, and Okita shook her head quickly.

"Please." Okita repeated softly, and Spirit sighed.

"... Alright..."

They fell into (stiff) silence again as Okita rounded the table and settled to sit on her heels in front of Spirit, her hands working slowly as she pulled supplies from the first-aid kit and set them out. The younger girl cast Spirit a small look once she was done with that part, and Spirit offered her hands up to the girl with a heavy, internal sigh.

In the long run it didn't matter much if Okita bandaged her hands or not, because eventually she would just take it all off again when she (inevitably) took another shower before heading off to the Internship... _Ugh, right. The Internship Patrol with Hawks._

 _I almost managed to forget_

... Anyway, even if it didn't matter for much, at least it was something to appease Okita with. You know, after all the fighting and the scare and the fainting at the No. 26 Hero being in her bathroom.

And to spare Okita anymore nervousness or whatever, Spirit kept herself utterly quiet and still as the girl worked to dab disinfectant on the wounds littering her hands, and she didn't dare flinch or pull away from the sting and pain that arose with it. She stayed absolutely still, her eyes locked to Okita's (slightly trembling) hands and swallowing back the winces every once in awhile. Okita murmured small apologies and other things that were a bit too low for even Spirit to catch, until the young girl had finished, and pulled away again to cleanup the used supplies and put the rest back where it needed be.

Spirit pulled her hands back toward herself and sighed, her shoulders and posture sinking a little as her red eyes trailed sluggishly over the bandages.

"... Thank you, Okita." Spirit murmured after a few moments, and Okita's hands stalled at the sudden (and maybe a little unexpected) thank you from the Pro. Okita cast a quick glance up toward Spirit, but never managed to catch her eyes before quickly looking away again, and nodding just once.

"... Y...you're welcome... And thank you for everything you did tonight..." Okita mumbled softly, "... You saved me..."

 _Well that is my job... Saving people_

Spirit kept her mouth shut though, and just nodded in reply. She returned her attention to her tea while Okita put things away, and only diverted her attention back to the girl after catching sight of a clock sitting on a bookshelf nearby, and reading the time;

 _Shit, it's already 4 in the morning_

"... Okita." Spirit murmured, her red eyes lifting and settling on the girl who had settled back down across the table from her, and who had been staring pensively into her cup. The younger girl jumped a little at suddenly being addressed, her purple eyes meeting Spirit's quickly. "I'm going to call the Club Owner and let him know what happened, you need a few days off after tonight. Alright?" Spirit murmured, and Okita nodded stiffly.

"... I suppose that might be best..." She mumbled softly, "... do... do you think he'll mind me taking time off...?" She asked uncertainly, Spirit shook her head.

"No, he won't say anything about it. Trust me." Spirit murmured, and really the Owner wouldn't- because he would have matronly Tenshi to talk to if he did try and comment, and meeting that woman's ire was not something people did lightly, even the Owner. And Tenshi was sure to be relatively unhappy with the chain of events of tonight when she found out... _which is another thing I don't wanna think about right now._

"... o... okay..." Okita mumbled, her eyes dropping again. Spirit set her cup down on the table and shifted to sit on her heels, her hands resting on the tabletop a moment as she sighed.

"... It's time I head home." Spirit announced quietly, and Okita's eyes glittered at the news. "It's late, and I'm tired... I need a few hours of sleep before this evening." Spirit mumbled,

"... O-oh... you still have your Internship to do... right...?" Okita asked quietly, and Spirit nodded once. "Are... are you going to be okay to do it...?" She asked, and Spirit blinked.

"Yeah." She replied evenly, before pushing herself slowly up onto her feet and biting back the throb of pain that awakened anew with the movement. Okita quickly shifted to stand as well, her eyes glittering as she watched the No. 26 (or No. 19?) carefully, her hands clasped together.

Spirit paused as she straightened up all the way, her eyes closed for a few moments and the room quiet as she simply stood there and settled. It was a huge chore to get up from sitting, and she felt dead on her feet more than usual... she really needed to go home and just go to sleep.

 _But before that..._

"... thank you, for letting me shower, the tea and lending me clothes... and for helping with my hands." Spirit said at length, her eyes opening slowly to glance Okita's way again. "... I appreciate it, and you keeping all of this to yourself." She told her softly, her head bowing slightly in a show of respect and Okita's eyes widened at the gesture.

".. O.. of course..." She murmured almost breathlessly, Spirit lift her head again.

"I'll be sure to wash these clothes before I give them back to you, the next time I see you at the Club." Spirit added quietly,

"... o-oh, ah.. thank you." Okita stammered, Spirit nodded, before moving off to gather up her things and the bag of her own (very gross) clothes. Okita trailed behind her as she made her way toward the door and waited patiently as Spirit pulled her shoes back on to leave. Once she had, she glanced toward Okita one last time.

"You have my mobile number." Spirit told the girl softly, and Okita blinked. "I gave it to you that first day we met, yeah? You can call or text me if you need something, and I will do my best to answer... just keep in mind I might be a bit busy at times." Spirit murmured, and Okita nodded quickly.

"... oh... uhm... yes, I understand..." She replied softly, though honestly Okita looked a little more flustered now- she was probably coming to the realization that she had Animal Spirit's phone number, and not just 'Kage's'. It was the actual phone number of an _actual_ Pro Hero!

"... t.. thank you... I won't bother you unless it's really important, I promise..." Okita told her softly, shaking off the surge of disbeif that rammed into her for a moment there, and Spirit nodded a bit.

"Alright.. then goodnight, Okita." Spirit sighed, not pausing very long before she turned away and reached for the door handle. She was two seconds from opening it before being halted by Okita's voice behind her.

".. Spirit... uhm... before you go." Okita stammered quickly, and Spirit glanced over her shoulder to see the girl pulling at her bangs nervously, her eyes on the floor and a little flushed.

"Hmm..?"

"... well... I just wanted to say... uhm.. goodnight. I hope you sleep well... a-and good luck later, with your Intern... and thank you again..." Okita stammered quickly, and Spirit blinked when the girl flushed a bit further and seemed to be wrestling with the next few words for a few moments. "... a..and... well it's actually... Shoko." Okita mumbled quietly, and Spirit's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. Okita took in a quick breath, shaking herself out a little.

"... M-my name... it's not Okita... it's Shoko Sasaki..."

Spirit stiffened faintly, her red eyes flashing as the younger girl slowly looked up from the floor, meeting Spirit's gaze shyly. "... I figure... if I get to know a secret of who you are, it... it's only fair you know something of who I am too..." Okita explained softly, blushing further and pulling her bangs forward in front of her face, hiding it slightly in her nervousness and embarrassment. "S-so that's something... my real name... Shoko Sasaki..."

Spirit just stood there in sheer silence for a few moments that seemed to stretch much longer than they should have, with Okita fidgeting more because of it.

 _... her real name...?_

She'd always been under the assumption that 'Okita' was not her real name, no one at the club went by their actual names, they were all pseudo-names or monikers. Okita, Tenshi, Jeriko, Bisha, Jishi- all those names she knew so well for all the girls at the club, and yet all fake names, like 'Kage' was for her.

But what did she mean? In offering up something that personal, that _real...?_ And just for finding out she was Animal Spirit...?

 _... she gave me her real name... even though she doesn't know mine...? ... living here, it's not really something anyone does... you don't give out your real name, not to anyone... let alone... me... she doesn't even know mine..._

Spirit swallowed slightly, her red eyes flashing as they dropped away from the nervous girl altogether.

 _... no one knows mine..._

She sighed, casting the thought off and nodding just once, her hand twisting the doorhandle and opening it a sliver. She paused for a moment, casting a glance over her shoulder as she took a single step through the threshold, only to halt again as she looked back. Her eyes matched with those purple ones of the young girl she had saved that night, and the one who had become an unwanted holder and knower of her double-life.

"... goodnight, Sasaki."

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **So sorry I fibbed a little last chapter, there actually wasn't much at all between Hawks and Spirit this time... though only because I misjudged how long this bit of the story was gonna take. XD**

 **So have this extra long, slightly(?) exciting chapter! I do hope you liked it! w And thank you all for your continued reading and support!**

 **Also! I have set up a Ko-Fi account (under my main user EnergyMageFrea), so if you really like my work and wanna buy me a coffee, I would really appreciate it! QwQ The link to it is in my profile bio!**

 **Anyhoo, thank you for reading!**

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